Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Mumbai’s Musheer Khan says playing ‘natural game’ key to performance
These are still early days for Musheer Khan in domestic cricket. As the young batter hopes to cement his place in the Mumbai side across formats, he has made it a point to learn a thing or two from his seniors.
So, on Tuesday, when he forged an 82-run partnership with Mumbai’s stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer, Musheer did not feel the pressure. Having known the Indian international for years, and having played with him in the past, Musheer knew that his job was to play freely and ensure that Mumbai scored a competitive total.
He executed the plans to perfection with a 51-ball 73.
“While batting, (Shreyas and I) didn’t talk much. But in the team meeting, he (Shreyas) always told us to go and play our game. In our team, we are told to play our game freely. It is ensured that we are not stopped from playing our natural game, and that actually helps,” Musheer, who was adjudged the Player of the Match, said.
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In the Indian Premier League, Musheer is a part of Shreyas-led Punjab Kings. Even though he played a solitary game last season, the franchise retained him for the 2026 edition because the captain backed him.
“Shreyas has been watching me since childhood, so he knows how I play. He has also seen me in the Ranji Trophy. So, there is no point in impressing him,” he said with a smile, adding, “But I have already impressed him. That’s why he has taken me to the Punjab Kings…”
The conditions were challenging, but Shreyas and Musheer knew that the key would be to play every ball by its merit.
“This was our third match at this venue, so we had a bit of an idea about how it would behave. Since Shardul (Thakur) bhai took five wickets here the other day, we knew that the first five to seven overs would be difficult here,” Musheer said. “Since the match started late, we knew that there would be four or five overs that would be difficult, and after that, it wouldn’t be too much trouble. So, we played accordingly…”
Published on Jan 06, 2026
