Vidarbha squad for SMAT 2025: Harsh Dubey to lead, Jitesh absent
All-rounder Harsh Dubey, fresh from his splendid showing at the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha, will lead Vidarbha’s 17-member squad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy to be held in Lucknow from November 26 to December 8.
However, last season’s captain and India T20I wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma was not a part of the squad. Jitesh was India A’s skipper during the Rising Stars Asia Cup and is expected to feature in the T20I series between India and South Africa.
Dubey recently struck his maiden T20 fifty to guide India into the semifinal at Doha and also picked up four wickets in four matches.
The slow left-arm orthodox bowler enjoyed a record-breaking Ranji Trophy 2024-25 campaign, grabbing 69 wickets — the most in the tournament’s history — to play a key role in Vidarbha’s title triumph.
He was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad as an injury replacement for R. Smaran in IPL 2025.
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Vidarbha, which made a quarterfinal exit last season under Jitesh after losing to Mumbai, will also have wicketkeeper Shivam Deshmukh in the squad. Pacer Yash Thakur has been named vice-captain.
The squad also has veteran India pacer Umesh Yadav, who will feature after a year. The 38-year-old was last seen in action in the 2024 edition of the tournament where he played two matches.
Vidarbha will begin its campaign against Chhattisgarh in Lucknow on November 26 in Group A. Mumbai, Odisha, Kerala, Assam, Railways and Andhra are the other teams in the group.
Published on Nov 22, 2025
