Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw included in Maharashtra squad for Buchi Babu tournament
Ankit Bawane has been named captain of the Maharashtra squad.
It will be the first assignment for top-order batter Shaw, who had left Mumbai before the start of the season and joined Maharashtra. The 25-year-old will be eager to make a fresh start after a torrid run last season with Mumbai, when he was allegedly dropped on the grounds of fitness and discipline by the domestic giants.
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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Prithvi Shaw's comeback date confirmed as out-of-favour Team India player set for return to action after 8-month hiatus
Prithvi Shaw is set to represent Maharashtra for the first time since his high-profile swap of domestic teams. After a couple of turbulent years, this provides a chance to course-correct. The first assignment for Shaw is the the All India Buchi Babu Invitational tournament in Chennai this month. Prithvi Shaw will represent Maharashtra after his switch from Mumbai earlier this year.(PTI) Shaw leads the line for Maharashtra after he was dropped in Mumbai for discipline and poor fitness. These are elements which have consistently haunted the immensely talented batter, who is looking for a fresh start in a different team. Alongside Prithvi Shaw in the Maharashtra squad is also Ruturaj Gaikwad, returning from an injury layoff of his own. Gaikwad and Shaw will make for a potentially devastating opening duo. However, Gaikwad is expected to be available only for Maharashtra's opener in the tournament, then slated to join West Zone in their Duleep Trophy campaign. Along with Gaikwad, wicketkeeper Saurabh Nawale will also travel to Bengaluru for the Duleep Trophy. Maharashtra will be captained by Ankit Bawne, who along with the coaching staff will be hoping to see a little bit of drive and intensity from Shaw. Maharashtra aim for strong Buchi Babu showing The former Mumbai batter went unsold in the 2025 IPL auction, the nadir a spell which has seen him fall out of confidence at international, domestic, and franchise level. Despite making his India debut at a young age and playing very well for Delhi Capitals during his tenure, off-field issues have hampered his career. Maharashtra's group in the innovative Buchi Babu tournament includes Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, and the TNCA President's XI. Maharashtra begin their campaign with a match against Chhattisgarh at Gurunanak College, where Shaw will try to make an instant impact and prove that he is ready to mark a strong return. Elsewhere, teenaged Ayush Mhatre's high stocks in domestic cricket, particularly Mumbai cricket, continue to rise. The current India U-19 captain added senior domestic captaincy to his cap as well, earning the skipper's mantle for Mumbai for this tournament. In the absence of names such as Shreyas Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane, Mhatre will lead a team that includes players such as Sarfaraz Khan and his brother Musheer.
India.com
2 days ago
- India.com
Star cricketer from Dhoni's CSK joins this team before IPL 2026, his name is..., team is...
Team CSK celebrating wicket with Dhoni and Ruturaj. (PIC - X) Right-handed batter Ruturaj Gaikwad from MS Dhoni's CSK and Prithvi Shaw have been named in Maharashtra's 17-member squad for the All India Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament happening in Chennai from August 18 to September 9. Senior batter Ankit Bawane will lead the side in the competition, which offers Shaw his first major opportunity to turn out for Maharashtra after moving on from Mumbai ahead of the new domestic cricket season. What is Prithvi Shaw eyeing for? Shaw, 25, will be aiming to revive his cricketing career after his fitness and discipline issues saw him being dropped from the Mumbai squad in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy competitions last season. Gaikwad, who featured in India A's tour games before the Test series in England, is also set to return to domestic action after pulling out of his county championship stint with Yorkshire at the last minute. How is Ruturaj Gaikwad looking forward to this opportunity? Both Gaikwad, who has been practising at his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings' High Performance Centre in Chennai, and wicketkeeper Saurabh Nawale are expected to leave after Maharashtra's opening match to join the West Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy semi-final, happening at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) grounds in Bengaluru on September 4. The Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, revived in 2023, will feature 16 teams this year, up from 12 in the past two editions. The 16 teams have been split evenly into four groups. The league stage format has been tweaked from four-day to three-day matches, with each team playing three games and a rest day in between the matches. All matches will be played in Chennai and livestreamed on the TNCA YouTube channel. Maharashtra are in Group A of the competition alongside TNCA President's XI, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Who are the players in the Maharashtra squad? Maharashtra squad: Ankit Bawane (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw, Siddhesh Veer, Sachin Dhas, Arshin Kulkarni, Harshal Kate, Siddharth Mhatre, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Mandar Bhandari (wk), Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dadhe, Vicky Ostwal, Hitesh Walunj, Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Prithvi Shaw starts life post Mumbai exit with Maharashtra debut at Buchi Babu Invitational
Prithvi Shaw will make his debut for Maharashtra at the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Chennai set to be played from August 18 to September 9. This will be Shaw's first tournament for the side, having moved from Mumbai in July. Shaw is looking to reignite his career in top-level cricket after a torrid season last year in which he was dropped by Mumbai due to issues with his fitness and discipline. Ruturaj Gaikwad is also named in the squad, with the tournament marking the first time he plays any top-level cricket since suffering an elbow injury that had ruled him out halfway through the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It had resulted in MS Dhoni making a comeback into the role of Chennai Super Kings captain for the remainder of the season. However, Gaikwad and wicketkeeper Saurabh Nawale are expected to exit the squad after the first match, having been selected to play for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy. West Zone have received direct entry into the semi-finals and will play their first game on September 4. Shaw had been granted a no-objection certificate from Mumbai to change teams in June. 'At this stage of my career, I believe joining the Maharashtra team will help me grow further as a cricketer,' Shaw said in a statement. 'I am deeply grateful to the Mumbai Cricket Association for the opportunities and support I have received over the years.' Maharashtra Cricket president Rohit Pawar said Shaw's international and IPL experience would be valuable and the team would stand 'firmly behind Prithvi in his new journey' for the seasons ahead. Widely rated as one of the most exciting young talents in the world during his teenage years, Shaw's international career petered out after five Tests, six ODIs and a T20I, with his last match for India coming in July 2021. He remained prolific in the domestic scene for a couple of years after that as well before his sharp decline last season. Shaw has 4556 runs in 58 first-class appearances at 46.02, scoring 13 centuries and 18 half-centuries with a highesgt score of 379. In List-A games, he has 3399 runs at 55.72 and a strike-rate of 125.74. In T20s, his 2902 runs have come at a strike-rate of 151.54 and average of 25.01. He was unsold in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Shaw was captain of the Indian team that won the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, with current Test captain Shubman Gill being the player of the tournament. Ankit Bawane (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw, Siddhesh Veer, Sachin Dhas, Arshin Kulkarni, Harshal Kate, Siddharth Mhatre, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Mandar Bhandari (wk), Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dadhe, Vicky Ostwal, Hitesh Walunj, Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
