Ayush Mhatre to lead, Musheer Khan included in Mumbai's Buchi Babu squad

Young opening batter Ayush Mhatre has been named captain of Mumbai’s 17-member squad for the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, beginning in Chennai later this month. The squad also features India batter Sarfaraz Khan. Mumbai will play their first match on August 18.

The 17-year-old impressed recently with back-to-back centuries in the two Youth Tests against the England U-19 team while leading India U-19. He made his First-Class debut for Mumbai last season, later showcased his talent in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and was subsequently appointed India U-19 captain for their multi-format tour of England.

He is also set to lead India U-19 on another multi-format tour of Australia starting September 21, which will feature three one-day matches followed by two four-day games at Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane. On August 11, Mhatre smashed 82 off 48 balls for Sainath Sports Club against Dadar Union Sporting Club in a Kanga League B Division clash, his first local maidan match since being named India U-19 captain.

Suved Parkar, who has played eight First-Class matches for Mumbai, will serve as vice-captain. The squad also includes Musheer Khan, returning after missing most of the 2024–25 season due to injuries from a car accident.

However, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Mumbai and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter has been ruled out due to a thumb injury sustained during the Mumbai Emerging Team’s England tour, while Suryansh Shedge, captain of that tour, has not been included.

Two allrounders, Sairaj Patil and Aakash Parkar, both representing the Eagle Thane Strikers, have also been named in the squad. Patil, who has played 10 white-ball matches for Mumbai, was named Player of the Tournament in the T20 Mumbai League held in Pune, scoring 233 runs and claiming seven wickets at an average of 16.29 in six matches. The Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament runs from August 18 to September 9.

Mumbai squad:

Ayush Mhatre (c), Musheer Khan, Divyansh Saxena, Sarfaraz Khan, Suved Parkar (vc), Pragnesh Kanpillewar, Harsh Aghav, Sairaj Patil, Aakash Parkar, Aakash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shreyas Gurav, Yash Dicholkar, Himanshu Singh, Royston Dias, Sylvester D’Souza, Irfan Umair