Gwalior, May 30 (IANS) Gwalior Cheetahs unveiled their squad for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh League (MPL) T20 Scindia Cup season. The team includes IPL-winning captain Rajat Patidar and skilled fast bowlers such as Akash Singh Raghuwanshi and Mangesh Yadav, bolstering the pace attack with quality and versatility.

Patidar led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to their maiden IPL title in 2025, and continued to showcase his fine skills at the helm in the ongoing edition as well, as his side marched into the final and are set to face 2022 champions Gujarat Titans on Sunday.

Madhav Singhania of Gwalior Cheetahs commended RCB skipper Rajat Patidar and expressed confidence in the team’s overall balance and strength.

“We are delighted to have Rajat Patidar in the squad. Winning an IPL title as captain speaks volumes about his leadership qualities and experience. Our squad has a very good balance of experienced players and exciting young talent, which gives us a lot of confidence going into the season. We believe this is a strong and settled group capable of playing positive cricket throughout the tournament,” said Madhav Singhania.

Gwalior Cheetahs will start their campaign against Ujjain Falcons at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on June 3. MPL 2026 will be the largest edition to date, with 10 men’s teams and five women’s franchises participating.

Three new franchises have been introduced to the men’s tournament: Malwa Stallions, Ujjain Falcons, and Royal Nimar Eagles. They join the reigning champions, Bhopal Leopards, along with Bundelkhand Bulls, Chambal Ghariyals, Gwalior Cheetahs, Indore Pink Panthers, Jabalpur Royal Lions, and Rewa Jaguars.

The women’s competition has also grown with Gwalior Shernis and Royal Nimar Eagles being the new entrants. They will compete alongside Bhopal Wolves, Bundelkhand Bulls, and Chambal Ghariyals in the five-team tournament.

Gwalior Cheetahs Squad: Akash Singh Raghuwanshi, Anil Mourya, Anubhav Agarwal, Arpit Patel, Ishan Afridi, Kartik Parihar, Kuldeep Gehi, Mangesh Yadav, Parth Chaudhary, Rajat Patidar, Saumy Kumar Pandey, Tushar Verma, Vandit Joshi, Varun Shinde, Varun Tiwari, Vikas Sharma

–IANS

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