Rajat Patidar To Lead Madhya Pradesh
Rajat Patidar will captain Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, although his India A commitments could affect availability.
Indore Rajat Patidar has been appointed captain of Madhya Pradesh for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which begins on November 14. The experienced batter will lead the side in the domestic T20 competition, although his availability for the entire league stage remains uncertain due to his commitments with India A. Madhya Pradesh have been placed in Elite Group C. The team will play its first four matches in New Chandigarh before moving to Mohali for the remaining three fixtures. Patidar, who has captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to consecutive IPL titles in 2025 and 2026, is scheduled to join the India A squad for the Men's Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha, Qatar. The tournament will take place from November 19 to 29. Patidar has also been appointed vice-captain of India A, which will be led by Tilak Varma. His potential departure during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy could force Madhya Pradesh head coach Chandrakant Pandit and the team management to identify a stand-in captain. With Patidar potentially unavailable, batters Akshat Raghuwanshi, Harsh Gawli and Aniket Verma will have additional responsibility. The squad includes wicketkeepers Gawli and Apoorv Dwivedi, while India pacer Avesh Khan will lead the bowling attack. The bowling unit also features Mangesh Yadav, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Saransh Jain and Shivang Kumar. Pacer Kuldeep Sen has missed selection due to an unspecified injury. Madhav Tiwari, despite featuring in the IPL 2026 and Madhya Pradesh League, has also been left out. Madhya Pradesh will begin their campaign against Kerala on November 14, followed by Assam, Tripura and Andhra. Their remaining opponents are Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry.
