Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead Maharashtra in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024-25. The opener who was announced as their Ranji Trophy captain earlier in the year and led them in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) has rightly been named their skipper for the domestic 50-over tournament.
CSK stars in Maharashtra’s squad for VHT
Apart from Gaikwad, who is Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, there are just three more Indian Premier League (IPL) players in Maharashtra’s VHT squad. Two of these also play for CSK, Rahul Tripathi and Mukesh Choudhary. The remaining player, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, was picked up by the Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL 2025 auction but was part of CSK last year.
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Maharashtra & Ruturaj Gaikwad’s form
SMAT 2024-25 didn’t go well for Gaikwad or Maharashtra. The opener averaged a little over 30, which was primarily fueled by his 97-run knock against Services. Prior to that, he’d scored under 10 in three of his four previous innings. With their best star not performing, Maharashtra was knocked out in the group stage itself after suffering consecutive defeats to Mumbai, Andhra, and Goa.
Maharashtra’s road to VHT knockouts
Placed in Group B alongside Rajasthan, Railways, Services, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Andhra, Maharashtra should go through the next stage. They have played Services, Goa, and Andhra in SMAT and should take some confidence from that. Considering their strength, they should win around 4-5 matches and have a realistic chance to make the preliminary quarterfinal of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Maharashtra’s squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 (first two matches)
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), OM Bhosale, Siddhesh Veer, Ankeet Bawane, Rahul Tripathi, Azim Kazi, Nikhil Naik (wk), Mukesh Choudhary, Hitesh Walunj, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mukesh Choudhary, Rajneesh Gurbani, Pradeep Dadhe, Satyajeet Bacchav, Prashant Solanki, Dhanraj Shinde (wk), Divyang Hingnekar
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