Ankeet Bawane Leads Star-Studded Maharashtra Squad with Shaw and Saxena for 2025-26 Ranji Trophy

India batter Prithvi Shaw and seasoned domestic player Jalaj Saxena have been included in a 16-member squad for the Ranji Trophy season, starting on October 15. Ankeet Bawane will serve as the full-time captain for the Maharashtra team. Maharashtra finds itself in Group B, competing alongside last year’s runner-up Kerala, as well as teams from Saurashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Goa.

Maharashtra will kick off their campaign with an away match against Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram, scheduled from October 15 to 18. The squad also features India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, a former captain of the state team. In a move prioritizing experience, selectors have chosen Pradeep Dadhe over Rajvardhan Hangargekar.

Both Prithvi Shaw and Jalaj Saxena joined Maharashtra for this domestic season. Shaw made the switch from Mumbai after experiencing a challenging period, including losing his spot in the red-ball format. He seeks to rejuvenate his career with the move.

Jalaj Saxena, who began his domestic career with Madhya Pradesh in the 2005-06 season, joined Kerala in 2016-17 and played in the Ranji final last year against Vidarbha.

In the previous Ranji Trophy season (2024-25), Maharashtra finished fifth in the Elite Group A standings, securing two wins, two draws, and enduring three losses across seven matches.

Squad: Ankeet Bawane (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw, Arshin Kulkarni, Siddhesh Veer, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Mandar Bhandari (wk), Jalaj Saxena, Vicky Ostwal, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dadhe, Hitesh Walunj, Siddharth Mhatre, Harshal Kate, Rajneesh Gurbani.

Published on Oct 09, 2025