Dube To Miss Mumbai’s Ranji Opener As Precaution Over Back Stiffness

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Mumbai allrounder Shivam Dube has been ruled out of the team’s 2025–26 Ranji Trophy opener against Jammu & Kashmir, with mild back stiffness keeping him on the sidelines.

The decision, taken as a precautionary measure, came shortly before the match, prompting Dube to return to Mumbai from Srinagar on Tuesday evening.

Team management sources said the move aims to manage Dube’s workload, as he features in India’s T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series in Australia, starting 23 October.

Dube has been in strong form of late, standing out in India’s 2025 Asia Cup campaign. Captain Suryakumar Yadav leaned heavily on him as a bowling option throughout the tournament.

In the tense final against Pakistan, Dube made a decisive impact, opening the bowling in Hardik Pandya’s absence, conceding only 23 runs in three overs, and later striking a vital 33 off 22 balls to secure India’s victory.

While Dube is likely to return to the Ranji side only after the Australia tour, Mumbai receive a boost with Musheer Khan’s comeback, following his absence last season due to a neck and collarbone injury sustained in a road accident.

His brother, Sarfaraz Khan, has also regained fitness following a quadriceps injury that ruled him out of India’s Test series against the West Indies.

Thakur Takes Over as Captain

This season, Shardul Thakur will lead Mumbai, replacing Ajinkya Rahane as captain.

Rahane remains an integral member of the squad and has been training consistently since July, even during his media commitments in the UK while India played their Test series.

Mumbai, runners-up in the last edition, find themselves in Group D alongside Jammu & Kashmir, Hyderabad, Delhi, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.

Their opening fixture against J&K carries a sense of redemption; it was J&K who stunned Mumbai by five wickets in their group-stage encounter at the Bandra Kurla Complex last season.

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Mankrit Kaur