Mumbai cricket is hit by a major blow, as the former India captain and one of their mainstays has informed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) about his unavailability for the remaining part of the red-ball season. The news broke out on the Saturday (January 17) morning.

Mumbai is scheduled to play two more Ranji Trophy 2025-26 matches. First, they will play against Hyderabad in an away fixture on January 22–25, and then against Delhi at the MCA-BKC ground from January 29 to February 1. Mumbai will have to play these two matches without the service of Ajinkya Rahane.

According to media reports, Rahane, 37, pulled himself out of the contests, citing 'personal reasons'; the MCA confirmed on Saturday. MCA is expected to announce the squad ahead of the Hyderabad match soon. Now, the team officials will have to select the team without Rahane.

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Ajinkya Rahane will not feature for Mumbai in the remaining Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season

The experienced Indian batter has been a key figure for the Mumbai cricket team for the past two seasons and has not featured for the Indian national team since July 2023. In the ongoing domestic season, Rahane's form remains below par according to his standard. In the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the right-handed batter is all set to play for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the second consecutive season.

Rahane claimed a half-century in his previous appearance for Mumbai, scoring an unbeaten 72 against Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In the same tournament, Rahane remained unbeaten for 95 during a match against Odisha on December 8. But he won the recently held Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The 28-year-old Indian cricketer Sarfaraz Khan set a new List A record by an Indian during the Mumbai vs Punjab match in the Elite Group C of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 on Thursday night (January 8). 

Shreyas Iyer-led Mumbai chose to field first after winning the toss in the match in Jaipur. While Punjab were all out for only 216 runs in 45.1 overs, Mumbai were bowled out for only 215 runs in 26.2 overs, as Punjab won the match by one run to end Group C as the points table leader (24 points), while Mumbai finished in the second position (20 points). 

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Sarfaraz Khan records fastest List A fifty by an Indian 

Coming to bat at no.3, Sarfaraz Khan slammed a 15-ball fifty with six fours and four sixes, as his batting made the chase very comfortable for Mumbai. It was the fastest fifty by an Indian in List A cricket history. The previous record was a 16-ball fifty by Abhijit Kale from Maharashtra (vs Baroda in 1995) and Atit Sheth from Baroda (vs Chhattisgarh in 2021). 

Sarfaraz scored 62 runs off just 20 balls with seven fours and five sixes, while captain Shreyas Iyer scored 45 runs off 34 balls with four fours and two sixes.   

Mumbai were once batting at 212/6, with just five runs away from the victory. However, they lost their last four wickets only for three runs, and Punjab stunned with a one-run victory. 

Gurnoor Brar won Player of the Match award

The 25-year-old Punjab right-arm fast bowler Gurnoor Brar won the Player of the Match award for his four wickets, as he had the bowling figures of 10-1-57-4. Also, the leg-spinner Mayank Markande got four wickets with the bowling figures of 5.2-0-31-4, including taking the last two wickets along with set batters Sarfaraz Khan and skipper Shreyas Iyer.

In the Punjab innings, Anmolpreet Singh (57) and Ramandeep Singh (72) scored crucial half-centuries to help the team to score 200+ total. Among the Mumbai bowlers, Musheer Khan got three wickets (9.1-0-37-3). 

Mumbai, in their fourth match of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT 2025-26), piled up runs against Goa (Mumbai vs Goa) at the Jaipuriya Vidhyalaya Ground in Jaipur, thanks to a blistering knock from Sarfaraz Khan, who registered 157 off 75 in the first innings. 

Ahead of the IPL 2026 season, Khan, who was known for his technical batting skills, which were suitable for multi-day format matches, has changed his batting style massively. Instead of batting with a low strike rate, the batter has been performing with a typical T20-style approach for the last few weeks. Along with losing a significant amount of weight, the Mumbai-born has developed his batting approach as well.

Mumbai went to play against Goa after winning back-to-back three matches in their first three VHT 2025-26 games. On paper, the star-studded lineup of Mumbai is looking much stronger than their opposition for today's match. Without the service of Rohit Sharma, who played the first two matches for the team, Mumbai claimed a massive total of 444 runs in 50 overs, losing only 8 wickets. 

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Sarfaraz Khan got stormy century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai 

Khan has been in fine form since the beginning of the tournament. He bagged a half-century against Uttarakhand on December 26. During a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 match against Assam on December 2, Sarfaraz remained unbeaten after scoring 100 in just 47 balls and claimed the Man of the Match award. 

Today, against Goa, he showcased his stunning hitting skills by smashing as many as 14 sixes and nine 4s. He scored runs at a brilliant strike rate of 209.33 to help Mumbai post the gigantic total. Sarfaraz came out to bat at number four after Mumbai lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 46 runs in the 21st over of the innings. The right-handed batter took only 56 balls to complete the century. With his brother Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz stitched a 93-run stand in just 10 overs. 

Mumbai continues their winning march in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 (VHT 2025-26) as they have picked up their third consecutive victory on Monday, defeating Chattisgarh at the Jaipuriya Vidhyalaya Ground in Jaipur. While chasing a target of 143 runs, Angkrish Raghuvanshi played a commanding innings.

After the match, the young top-order batter shared his experiences so far in the ongoing contest. In the previous two games, he got the opportunity to pitch with the former India captain Rohit Sharma, who scored a century against Sikkim as well. Sharma and Raghuvanshi stitched a strong 141-run partnership in the Mumbai vs Sikkim VHT 2025-26 match. Raghuvanshi said that out of those 141 runs, he added only 40, as he was enjoying watching Sharma's flawless batting from the non-striker's end.

"Out of the 141 runs, I got only 40, so it was just so much fun. I was mostly giving him singles and watching from the non-striker’s end, and it honestly felt like a movie," said Mumbai opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

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Watch the interview where Angkrish Raghuvanshi said about Rohit Sharma 

VIDEO | Vijay Hazare Trophy: Mumbai opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi, reflecting on his 141-run opening-wicket partnership with Rohit Sharma against Sikkim, said, “Out of the 141 runs, I got only 40, so it was just so much fun. I was mostly giving him singles and watching from the… pic.twitter.com/EI52maJaWn

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 29, 2025

In their previous match, which was against Uttarakhand, the emerging cricketer suffered a scary injury, for which he was rushed to hospital on Friday. According to media reports, Raghuvanshi suffered a concussion and an injury below the neck following a heavy fall while attempting a difficult catch during the match. Talking about the incident, the cricketer said, "Just lots of medicine and lots of rest, and that’s it. All thanks to our physio, Dr. Suresh Kumar. I had a bad fall, but he was with me throughout, and I feel much better now."

Today, when Mumbai was chasing the less competitive target, the 21-year-old scored 68 off 66 balls with maturity. During this knock, he smashed six fours and two sixes. Eventually, Mumbai won their third match in just 24 overs to seal a 9-wicket win.

After a blistering century in Mumbai's opening match for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 season (VHT 2025-26), Rohit Sharma returned with a golden duck in the second match. Rohit played a pull shot during the Mumbai vs. Uttarakhand match, which ended in the fielder's palm. The opener had to walk back to the pavilion without scoring a single run.

Fans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur left disappointed because of the early departure of the batter. Later, from the gallery, fans expressed their anger at the fielder who took the catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma. A video of angry fans is now going viral on social media platforms. On the sixth ball of the first over of today's match, Rohit unleashed his trademark pull shot against Devendra Bora's short pitch.

After making connections with the bat, the ball got the elevation. Jagmohan Nagarkoti, who was near the boundary line, was somehow able to grab the ball. Thus, Rohit returned with a golden duck. 

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Watch how fans are showing their anger on the fielder who took Rohit Sharma's catch 

Rohit Sharma’s fans showed anger toward Jagmohan Nagarkoti when he came near the boundary line while fielding, after taking Rohit’s catch.😂 pic.twitter.com/oVTpDzLNGz

— 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) December 26, 2025

In their previous match against Sikkim, Rohit played a match-winning 155 (94)-run knock in front of a full-house gallery. During the 94-ball innings, the right-handed batter smashed 18 boundaries and 9 sixes. Mumbai won the match by 8 wickets.

Sikkim went to bat first and registered 236/7 in their 50-overs limit. Ashish Thapa, with 79 runs, was the best performer with the bat for Sikkim. Though, Thapa's effort went in vain as Mumbai won the match with ease. 

In the Super League Group B encounter of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26, Mumbai beat Haryana after recording their highest SMAT chase, thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal's powerful century. Also, Sarfaraz Khan played a crucial knock in that historic victory for Mumbai. 

After Mumbai chose to field first at the DY Patil Academy in Ambi on Sunday (December 14) morning, Haryana scored 234/3 in 20 overs. In reply, Mumbai chased down the target in 17.3 overs after losing six wickets, as Mumbai won the match by four wickets with 15 balls remaining. 

Captain Ankit Kumar and Nishant Sindhu played powerful knocks in the first innings, while they had a 110-run partnership for the second wicket. While the opener Ankit scored 89 off 42 balls with 10 fours and six sixes, Nishant scored 63 not out off 38 balls with four fours and three sixes. 

In the late innings, Samant Jhakar scored 31 off 14 balls (two fours and three sixes) before getting retired out, while Sumit Kumar scored 16 not out off four balls, as he slammed four fours. 

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Yashasvi Jaiswal recorded his 4th T20 century

In reply, Mumbai openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ajinkya Rahane had a 53-run partnership in 19 balls. After Rahane was dismissed for 21 off 10 balls with two fours and one six, Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan had an 88-run partnership for the second wicket. Sarfaraz scored 64 off 25 balls with nine fours and three sixes. 

Although Mumbai were losing wickets regularly after the dismissal of Sarfaraz, Jaiswal continued his powerful batting to maintain the confident chase. The left-handed opening batter slammed his fourth T20 century in 48 balls, as he scored 101 off 50 balls before getting out, where Mumbai were just seven runs behind the target. Jaiswal hit 16 fours and one six in that memorable T20 knock.

Mumbai recorded 2nd highest successful SMAT chase, record SMAT chase for team

While Mumbai chased down the 235-run target, they are just behind the record SMAT chase. At the same venue, just two days ago, Jharkhand recorded the successful chase of a 236-run target against Punjab. 

An eventful third over for Tanush Kotian as Mumbai skipper Shardul Thakur utilized 2 DRS to review two back-to-back wide calls. Taking a couple of DRS in two consecutive deliveries, that too for reviewing wide decisions, is not a regular sight in a cricket match. But Thakur dared to do that, and he got some success as well. 

The Super League stage of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2025) T20 tournament. For the 132nd match of the contest, Mumbai faced Hyderabad at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on the evening of December 12. Mumbai had a challenging day with the bat, as they scored only 131 runs in the first innings of the match. 

Hyderabad started the run chase with confidence. Aman Rao and Tanmay Agarwal, openers of Hyderabad, took the game away from Mumbai. To break the partnership, Mumbai was looking for some magical moments. During the 8th over of the second innings, when those two openers were batting without any trouble, Thakur decided to use back-to-back reviews to overturn the umpire's decision. 

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Shardul Thakur two back-to-back DRS to review wide calls

On the second ball of the over, Tanush Kotian, a Mumbai spinner, delivered the ball away from the right-handed batter. The batter tried to play a cut shot but failed to connect. The umpire instantly spread his arms to call it a wide. The unhappy Mumbai skipper signaled to take a review. After reviewing the delivery, the third umpire overruled the wide call; Shardul Thakur led Mumbai to get their DRS on point. 

On the very next delivery, the ball was on the leg side; both batter and keeper missed that. The umpire again called for a wide, and Shardul again took a DRS. But this time, the third umpire approved the on-field umpire's call. Mumbai lost a DRS. Eventually, Hyderabad won the match by 9 wickets in 11.5 overs. Agarwal got 75, the highest score of the match. 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) fans can take a breath of relief as their respective key players have performed well in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2025) tournament. With the confident batting from Ajinkya Rahane and Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai got an easy win over Railways on November 26 at Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground. 

Mumbai went to play the match against Railways with their full force. Batters of the Railways cricket team tried their best to score a good amount of runs to challenge the star-studded opposition. Ashutosh Sharma played for Railways and played an attacking 30-ball, 61-run innings. His innings was laced with seven boundaries and three over-boundaries. Mohammad Saif was another Railways batter who performed strongly against Mumbai's bowling attack, which contained well-known names like Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, and Shivam Dube. Thakur was absolutely on fire with the new ball in hand. 

Mumbai got two wickets early in the match, but Railways endured the early blows and registered 158 for India in 20 overs mostly because of Sharma's 61 and Saif's 48-run innings. 

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Confident batting by Ajinkya Rahane and Suryakumar Yadav ahead of IPL 2025

The 159-run target was not hard enough for Mumbai to chase down. With limited quality bowling options, Railways could barely set any hurdle in front of Mumbai's strong batting line-up. Ayush Mhatre's early departure was soon covered up nicely by Rahane and then Yadav. Ajinkya Rahane, who will play IPL 2026 for Kolkata Knight Riders, scored 62 off 33. Interestingly, he hit five over boundaries and only one boundary to make the knock effective. Yadav joined him in the middle with some extra fireworks. The Mumbai Indians star got 47 off 30 with five 4s and two 6s. MI fans are definitely happy to see their star middle-order batter gaining momentum ahead of IPL 2026, as his recent individual performances with Team India were below average. 

In 15.5 overs, Mumbai defeated Railways in the SMAT 2025 today with 7 wickets in hand. Rahane was named Man of the Match for his batting performance. 

Mumbai have announced the T20 squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26, where the Mumbai Indians star, who is also a star of the Indian national cricket team, has been included. 

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 will begin on November 26, when Mumbai will also begin their journey with the match against Railways. Shardul Thakur will lead the two-time Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy winners in the forthcoming edition. 

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Mumbai named Suryakumar Yadav in SMAT 2025-26 squad

Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian T20I captain and Mumbai Indians star, has also been named in the T20I squad. Before the five-match home T20I series against South Africa, which will begin on December 9, SKY will get some important match practice in the upcoming SMAT season.   

Suryakumar Yadav, the second-leading run-scorer in the IPL 2025, who set an example of consistent T20 batting during the IPL 2025, is struggling to perform consistently in the recent T20I matches. After a forgettable performance in the Asia Cup T20 2025, where the Indian T20I captain only scored 72 runs in six innings with an average of 18.00, including a highest score of 47 not out, Suryakumar Yadav finished the Australia T20I tour as the third leading run-scorer for India, but his dominant consistency is still missing. In the Australia tour, the Indian T20I skipper scored 39 not out, 1, 24, and 20 runs, respectively.  

Also, Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Musheer Khan, Tanush Kotian, wicketkeeper Angkrish Raghuvanshi, etc, are significant names in the Mumbai squad for the upcoming SMAT 2025-26. 

Mumbai squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 (SMAT 2025-26) 

Shardul Thakur (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Sairaj Patil, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Atharva Ankolekar, Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Tushar Deshpande, Irfan Umair, and Hardik Tamore (wk)

Rohit Sharma can feature in multiple domestic tournaments for Mumbai. If the rumors are to be believed, then 'Hitman' can play in two separate tournaments for his state team. Regarding this, he already talked with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). 

After returning from Australia, where he smashed a century and a half-century during the Australia vs. India 3-match ODI series, Sharma has been paying focus on his fitness and recovery. His body transformation is visibly clear; he is now looking a lot fitter than before. After the conclusion of the ODI series, Sharma returned to India and joined his Mumbai teammates for training. 

There were multiple videos on social media platforms where we could see the batter spending some time with the Mumbai cricket team players. From then on, it was speculated that he might be playing for his state time. Now, the speculations can turn true.

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Rohit Sharma ready to play for Mumbai in domestic cricket

As per the latest reports, Rohit Sharma is all set to play domestic cricket for Mumbai. He already spoke with the Mumbai Cricket Association about his desire to play domestic matches. It is believed that if things work according to plan, then the former India captain can play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, as well as the upcoming edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. Rohit Sharma's last domestic match was a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir in January 2025. He returned to domestic cricket after a nearly decade-long break, playing against Jammu and Kashmir on January 23, 2025. Though, his comeback in domestic cricket was not a memorable account. 

According to media reports, "Rohit Sharma has informed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) that he will be available to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and also he might be available for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament scheduled to start on November 26."