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Nitish Rana was named captain as Delhi announced their squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 on Saturday, November 22. The tournament is set to get underway on November 26, with matches set to be played in centres across the country. Delhi will begin their campaign against Jharkhand in Elite Group D on November 26.
Rana's return as captain marks his homecoming for Delhi after he returned to his home side following his move from Uttar Pradesh. The senior batter had left Delhi in 2023 after a fallout with the selectors and the team management. However, he obtained an NOC from UPCA to return to the Delhi team ahead of the ongoing 2025-26 season.
Rana has been named Delhi's captain for the premier domestic tournament after his impressive show for his team, West Delhi Lions, in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025. Rana smashed 393 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of over 181, including a blistering unbeaten 79 in the final to lead his team to the title.
He was recently traded by the Delhi Capitals from the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2026 auction and has now been rewarded with Delhi's captaincy ahead of SMAT 2025. Rana will lead a Delhi team consisting of the likes of Ayush Badoni, Priyansh Arya, Suyash Sharma and Simarjeet Singh, among others.
Rana has been named captain of Delhi's T20 team despite having been snubbed from their Ranji Trophy side earlier this year. He failed to find a spot in Delhi's Ranji team, which is being led by Badoni and Yash Dhull, and are yet to win a match in the tournament.
The biggest surprise in Delhi's squad is the exclusion of spinner Digvesh Rathi. Rathi has witnessed a remarkable rise in stature after impressing for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in his debut IPL season earlier this year. However, he struggled with form in the Delhi Premier League 2025, where appears to be the reason behind his snub from Delhi's SMAT squad.
The selectors didn't clarify whether Rathi has suffered an injury or if he has been removed from the squad owing to his recent performances. Meanwhile, Delhi selectors have also confirmed that pacers Ishant Sharma, Harshit Rana and Navdeep Saini will join the team subject to their availability for matches.
Delhi squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy:
Nitish Rana (captain), Priyansh Arya, Sarthak Ranjan, Ayush Badoni, Arpit Rana, Ayush Doseja, Mayank Rawat, Tejasvi (wk), Anuj Rawat (wk), Himmat Singh, Yash Dhull, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Dagar, Yash Bhatia, Ankit Rajesh Kumar, Harsh Tyagi, Suyash Sharma, Prince Yadav, Money Grewal, Rohan Rana, Dhruv Kaushik, Aryan Rana, Vaibhav Kandpal.
