Prithvi Shaw Returns, Mumbai Opts for Shreyas Iyer as Captain in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Squad

The squad also featured Prithvi Shaw, who had recently been omitted from Mumbai's Ranji Trophy squad due to concerns about his fitness. Shaw was said to be carrying excess weight and was not consistently attending team training sessions. An official from the Mumbai Cricket Association emphasized the importance of evaluating Shaw's fitness and performance on the field, stating, "The MCA has a proud tradition and every player must meet the required standards, without exceptions."

Shaw has represented India in five Tests, six ODIs and one T20Is for India, but a spot in the squad seems out of reach in recent times. In the first two rounds of the Ranji Trophy, Shaw only managed 7, 12, 1 and 39*. The MCA named 29-year-old opener Akhil Herwadkar as Shaw's replacement in that squad.

The roster also includes Ajinkya Rahane, who captained Mumbai in the first half of the ongoing Ranji Trophy. Suryakumar Yadav has not been included in the squad, as he reportedly won't be available for the first few matches due to personal reasons. He was led Team India to a 2-1 win in South Africa, in a three-match T20I series.

Iyer has been in sizzling form at the Ranji Trophy this season, scoring 452 runs at 90.40, alongwith two centuries. He hammered a quickfire 233-run knock of 228 balls against Odisha, followed by a 142-run knock of 190 balls against Maharashtra.

Tanush Kotian, who was part of India A's unofficial TEsts in Australia, has also been included. Even Shardul Thakur finds a spot in the squad.

Shreyas Iyer (c), Prithvi Shaw, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Jay Bista, Ajinkya Rahane, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Sairaj Patil, Hardik Tamore (wk), Aakash Anand (wk), Shams Mulani, Himanshu Singh, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Royston Dias, Juned Khan