Mumbai has announced that the new CSK youngster Ayush Mhatre will be leading Mumbai in the annual Buchi Babu tournament, despite the presence of several senior cricketers in the 17-member squad.
Indian batsman Ayush Mhatre has been the heart of the Mumbai side in the recent tournaments. He came into the limelight after his convincing show for the Chennai Super Kings when he was brought in as a replacement during the second phase of the IPL.
The youngster not only scored runs regularly but also looked promising with his technique and ability to score very quick runs despite his young age of 18 years. He was then seen as the skipper of the India U-19 side that played first-class as well as One-day games against the England U-19 team.
Ayush Mhatre to lead Mumbai in Buchi Babu Tournament
The Ayush Mhatre-led Mumbai side will also contain the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and his brother Musheer Khan for the upcoming Buchi Babu Tournament. The appointment of the 18-year-old batter despite the presence of senior players highlights his growing stature in both the Mumbai and India setups.
Ayush Mhatre has also been named the skipper of the India U-19 side that will travel to Australia for a long series across formats. The Mumbai 17-member squad is as follows:
Ayush Mhatre (captain), Musheer Khan, Divyansh Saxena, Sarfaraz Khan, Suved Parker (vice-captain), Aakash Anand (WK), Hardik Tamore (WK), Shreyas Gurav, Yash Dicholkar, Pragnesh Kanpillewar, Harsh Aghav, Sairaj Patil, Aakash Parkar, Himanshu Singh, Roystan Dias, Sylvester Dsouza, and Irfan Umair.
Gujarat Titans star also offered captaincy inthe Buchi Babu Tournament
Apart from the CSK youngster, another promising young talent, R. Sai Kishore, has also been handed the captaincy role for one of the two teams from the State of Tamil Nadu. The Gujarat Titans spin bowler, who energized as their most successful spinner in a season when Rashid Khan was at his lowest, will be seen leading the TNCA President’s XI.
TNCA President’s XI: Sai Kishore (c), Andre Siddarth, Shahrukh Khan, Vimal Khumar, Radhakrishnan S, Baba Indrajith, Vijay Shankar, Siddharth M, Ambrish RS, Achyuth CV, Lokeshwar S, Ajitesh G, Hemchudeshan J, Trilok Nag H, Saravana Kumar P, and Abhinav K
On the other hand, the other side of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association will be led by skipper Pradosh Ranjan Paul.
TNCA XI: Pradosh Ranjan Paul (c), Rithik Easwaran S, Athish SR, Lakshay Jain S, Chandrasekar DT, Vidyuth P, Sonu Yadav, Boopathi Vaishna Kumar, Sachin B, Tushar Raheja, Kiran Karthikeyan, Mohamed Ali S, Deepesh D, Prem Kumar J, Esakkimuthu A, and Lokesh Raj TD
A brief view of the Buchi Babu Tournament
The Buchi Babu tournament is a multi-day cricket tournament organised by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. This year, the tournament has been scheduled to be played from the 18th of August to the 9th of September and concludes before the start of the Asia Cup.
While the Duleep Trophy is also in a similar window, many senior players from the state teams will miss the tournament. There are 4 groups, and they consist of 4 teams each.
Group A includes TNCA President’s XI, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra. Group B teams are Railways, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, and Baroda. TNCA XI and Mumbai are part of Group C, which also includes Haryana and Bengal. Hyderabad, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand are in Group D.