Buchi Babu Trophy 2025: Full Schedule, Squads, and Top Players to Watch out for. Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad to play Buchi Babu Tournament 2025.
The Buchi Babu Trophy 2025, a prestigious first-class cricket tournament, will be held in Tamil Nadu from 18 August to 9 September. Hosted annually by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), the competition brings together 16 teams, including Mumbai, Maharashtra, Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, TNCA President’s XI, and TNCA XI, and is considered one of the most important warm-up fixtures before the Indian domestic season. With its rich history and reputation, the tournament has provided a platform for both budding talents and established cricketers to showcase their skills.
The 2025 edition will be played across Chennai and nearby venues, acting as an important preparatory platform ahead of the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, and other key red-ball tournaments in India. Known for its hot, humid conditions and occasionally seaming pitches, the Buchi Babu Trophy continues to test every aspect of a player’s ability, from skill and technique to fitness and temperament.
The 2025 Buchi Babu Trophy will also feature some exciting leadership choices across teams. Maharashtra will be captained by Ankeet Bawane, providing stability to a squad that includes big names like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Prithvi Shaw. For Mumbai, the responsibility lies with Ayush Mhatre, with Suved Parker as vice-captain, highlighting the blend of youth and leadership in their setup. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu will field two squads: the TNCA President’s XI led by Pradosh Ranjan Paul, and the TNCA XI under the leadership of M. Shahrukh Khan.
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Last year, stars like Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, and Sarfaraz Khan took part in the Buchi Babu Trophy, highlighting its importance. Played in Chennai’s hot and sometimes seaming conditions, the tournament tests players’ skills and fitness, making it a valuable stepping stone before the domestic season.
Groups
- Group A: TNCA President’s XI, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra
- Group B: Indian Railways, Jammu & Kashmir, Baroda, Odisha
- Group C: TNCA XI, Mumbai, Haryana, Bengal
- Group D: Hyderabad, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand
Here are the players to watch out for in the tournament:
Sarfaraz Khan (Mumbai)
Year after year, Sarfaraz Khan continues to prove his hunger for runs in domestic cricket. Despite already being on the fringes of national selection, he continues to feature in the Buchi Babu Trophy, underlining how important it is as preparation. For Sarfaraz, this tournament is not just about form but about maintaining rhythm ahead of the Ranji Trophy and pushing his case for a permanent place in India’s Test side. Given his proven track record in first-class cricket, all eyes will be on him once again.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Maharashtra)
Ruturaj Gaikwad has already made a name for himself in white-ball cricket and has captained India in limited formats. But his red-ball credentials are still under the scanner. Having missed competitive action after the IPL, the Buchi Babu Trophy offers him a golden opportunity to get back into rhythm and show that he belongs in India’s Test top-order conversation. His technique and temperament will be tested in Chennai’s conditions, and he will want to make a strong statement.
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Umran Malik (Jammu & Kashmir)
India’s pace battery is always under scrutiny, and Umran Malik’s raw pace has been one of the most talked-about topics in recent years. While he has shown glimpses of brilliance in white-ball formats, consistency has eluded him, and he hasn’t cemented his place in the T20I setup. This red-ball tournament is vital for him. If he can adapt his pace to long spells and make the red ball talk, it could open doors not just in domestic cricket but also put him back in the selectors’ minds for future Test matches.
Musheer Khan (Mumbai)
The young Mumbai batter Musheer Khan has already impressed with his solid technique and temperament at the junior and domestic levels. His participation in the Buchi Babu Trophy will be closely watched, as he looks to carry his promising form into the longer format and push his case for higher honours.
Ayush Mhatre (Mumbai)
Leading Mumbai in this year’s Buchi Babu Trophy, Ayush Mhatre has an added responsibility on his shoulders. Along with proving his consistency as a batter, he will also be tested as a leader against quality opposition. This dual role makes the tournament a significant opportunity for him to showcase both his skills and his captaincy credentials ahead of the domestic season.
Tamil Nadu’s Young Brigade
Since the tournament is hosted in Tamil Nadu, naturally, several local talents will use this platform to shine. Young batters and spinners from the state are known to thrive in these conditions, and the Buchi Babu Trophy gives them the chance to announce themselves ahead of the Ranji season. For many of these players, performances here could lead to zonal representation and even IPL recognition.
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Buchi Babu Trophy 2025 Squads
While squads for teams like Maharashtra, TNCA President’s XI, TNCA XI, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Bengal, Punjab and Odisha have been announced, the rest of the participating sides are yet to reveal their line-ups.
Maharashtra: Ankit Bawane(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw, Siddhesh Veer, Sachin Dhas, Arshin Kulkarni, Harshal Kate, Siddharth Mhatre, Saurabh Nawale, Mandar Bhandari, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dadhe, Vicky Ostwal, Hitesh Walunj, Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Mumbai: Ayush Mhatre(c), Musheer Khan, Divyansh Saxena, Sarfaraz Khan, Suved Parker(vc), Pragnesh Kanpillewar, Harsh Aghav, Sairaj Patil, Aakash Parkar, Aakash Anand, Hardik Tamore, Shreyas Gurav, Yash Dicholkar, Himanshu Singh, Roystan Dias, Sylvester D’souza, Irfan Umair.
Madhya Pradesh: Chanchal Rathore(c), Saksham Purohit, Aryan Tiwari, Shubham Kushwah, Akhil Yadav Nigote, Rudransh Singh, Atharva Mahajan, Varun Tiwari, Soham Patwardhan, Aditya Mishra, Rohit Rajawat, Vishnu Bhardwaj, Anvesh Chawla, Akshat Dwivedi, Madhav Tiwari, Akshat Sharma, Mangesh Yadav, Ishan Choudhary.
TNCA President’s XI: Pradosh Ranjan Paul(c), C. Andre Siddarth(vc), B. Indrajith, Vijay Shankar, R. Vimal Khumar, S. Radhakrishnan, S. Lokeshwar, G. Ajitesh, J. Hemchudeshan, R.S. Ambrish, C.V. Achyuth, H. Trilok Nag, P. Saravana Kumar, P. Vidyuth, K. Abhinav.
TNCA XI: M. Shahrukh Khan(c), Boopathi Vaishna Kumar (vc), B. Sachin, M. Siddharth, Tushar Raheja, Kiran Karthikeyan, S. Mohamed Ali, S. Rithik Easwaran, S.R. Athish, S. Lakshay Jain, D.T. Chandrasekar, P. Vignesh, R. Sonu Yadav, D. Deepesh, J. Prem Kumar, A. Esakkimuthu, T.D. Lokesh Raj.
Jammu & Kashmir: Qamran Iqbal, Vivrant Sharma, Paras Dogra(c), Yawer Hassan, Abdul Samad, Musaif Ajaz, Kawalpreet Singh, Shivansh Sharma, Abid Mushtaq, Dikshant Kundal, Umran Malik, Umar Nazir, Rohit Sharma, Vanshaj Sharma, Sunil Kumar, Sahil Lotra.
Bengal: Sudip Gharami, Anustup Majumdar(c), Abishek Porel, Sumanta Gupta, Aditya Purohit, Saurabh Singh, Chinmoy Singh, Vishal Bhati, Aishik Patel, Karanlal, Vikash Singh Jr., Aamir Gani, Rahul Prasad, Mukesh Kumar, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Ishan Porel, Yudhajit Guha, Nuruddin Mondal, Kanishk Seth, Sumit Mohanta, Subham Sarkar.
Punjab: Anmolpreet Singh(c), Prabhsimran Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Jaskaranvir Singh Paul, Jass Inder Singh, Prerit Dutta, Ashwani Kumar, Krish Bhagat, Uday Pratap Saharan, Anmol Malhotra, Salil Arora, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Aradhya Shukla, Pukhraj Mann, Raghu Shivam Sharma, Harnoor Singh Pannu.
Odisha: Swastik Samal(c), Sandeep Pattnaik, Sambit S Baral, Sumit Sharma, Anil Parida, Sunil Kumar Roul, Tapas Kumar Das, Saideep Mohapatra, Rajesh Dhupar, Badal Biswal, Om T Munde, Tarini Sa, Subhranshu Senapati, Prasant K Rana, Binaya K. Paikaray, Aashirwad Swain(vc), Ashutosh Chhuria, Kartik Biswal, Govinda Poddar, Piyush Panigrahi.
Chhattisgarh: Amandeep Khare(c), Aditya Sarwate, Ashish Chouhan, Ashutosh Singh, Avnish Singh Dhaliwal, Ayush Pandey, Dev Aditya Singh, Harvinder Singh, Mayank Yadav, Rahul Pradhan, Ravi Kiran, Rishi Sharma, Sahban Khan, Sanjeet Desai, Shashank Chandrakar, Shashank Tiwari, Shubham Agarwal, Sourabh Majumdar, Varun Singh Bhuie.
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