Madhya Pradesh have been placed in Elite Group C and will play their first four matches in New Chandigarh, before shifting to Mohali for their remaining three league fixtures. Rajat Patidar has been named Madhya Pradesh captain for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which begins on November 14. Patidar, who captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to IPL titles in 2025 and 2026, may not be available for the entire league stage. He and left-arm pace-bowling all-rounder Arshad Khan are scheduled to join the India A squad for the Men’s Rising Stars Asia Cup, which will be held in Doha, Qatar, from November 19 to 29.
In the India A squad, Patidar has been named vice-captain to Tilak Varma. The squad includes two wicketkeepers in Harsh Gawli and Apoorv Dwivedi, while India pacer Avesh Khan will lead a bowling attack featuring Mangesh Yadav, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Saransh Jain and Shivang Kumar. There is still no place in the squad for seam-bowling all-rounder Madhav Tiwari, despite his appearances for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 and Ujjain Falcons in the Madhya Pradesh League T20 Scindia Cup 2026. Madhya Pradesh will begin their campaign against Kerala in a day-night match in New Chandigarh on November 14. They will then face Assam on November 16, Tripura on November 18 and Andhra on November 20.
Should Patidar leave after the game against Assam to join the India A squad, the Madhya Pradesh team management, led by Chandrakant Pandit, will need to appoint a stand-in captain for the remainder of the league stage. The team is also scheduled to play Maharashtra on November 22, Himachal Pradesh on November 24 and Puducherry in its final group-stage match on November 26.
