5 players who may not know were Rohit Sharma's teammates the last time he played Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy ft. Ajit Agarkar

In a surprising development, Rohit Sharma is reportedly set to feature for Mumbai in the knockouts of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025-26. He is currently playing the ODI series against South Africa, with the final match to be played on Saturday, December 6.

Mumbai have won all four of their matches in the SMAT 2025-26 group stage so far and are certain to make it to the knockouts. The knockouts will be held in Indore from December 12 to 18. Despite having retired from T20Is after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma has expressed his interest in playing the domestic T20 tournament.

“Rohit has expressed his desire to play for Mumbai in the knockouts of SMAT," a Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) source was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Rohit Sharma last played in the SMAT way back in 2012 against Punjab. He had scored a run-a-ball 16 as Mumbai lost the game by five wickets. It was the second semi-final of that edition.

On that note, let us take a look at five players who you may not know were Rohit Sharma's teammates the last time he played SMAT.

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#5 Wasim Jaffer

Former India cricketer and domestic stalwart Wasim Jaffer opened the innings for Mumbai the last time Rohit Sharma played the SMAT. He scored 13 runs off 14 balls with two boundaries.

While Jaffer played just 31 Tests and two ODIs, He was among the most prolific and consistent run-scorers in domestic cricket. Jaffer amassed 19410 runs from 260 first-class games at an average of 50.67 with 57 hundreds and 91 half-centuries.

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#4 Abhishek Nayar

Former India batter and coach Abhishek Nayar batted at number three in the game against Punjab. He was dismissed for just eight runs off as many balls with one boundary in his knock. Nayar played just three ODIs for India in what was a very short international career.

He represented the Mumbai Indians (MI), Punjab Kings (PBKS), now-defunct Pune Warriors India (PWI), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL. Abhishek Nayar and Rohit Sharma are known to share a strong bond. Rohit personally trained with Nayar recently, following which he transformed his fitness.

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#3 Ajinkya Rahane

Rohit Sharma's India teammate Ajinkya Rahane opened the batting alongside Jaffer in the game against Punjab. Rahane scored 21 runs off 20 balls with two boundaries and a six. Rohit and Rahane have played together for India in all three formats of the game.

Rahane has played 85 Tests, 90 ODIs, and 20 T20Is. Should Rohit turn up in the knockouts for Mumbai, the two batters could reunite, as Ajinkya Rahane is currently playing for Mumbai in the ongoing SMAT 2025-26. He has scored 154 runs in five matches at an average of 30.80 and a strike-rate of 157.14 with a half-century.

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#2 Suryakumar Yadav

Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians (MI) teammate Suryakumar Yadav also played alongside him in his last SMAT fixture in 2012. The two even batted together in that match. Suryakumar Yadav scored 20 runs off 18 balls with two boundaries.

Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav won the 2024 T20 World Cup together for India and have won the IPL together as well in 2019 and 2020. Like Rahane, Suryakumar is also playing for Mumbai in the ongoing SMAT 2025-26. He has scored 165 runs in five matches at an average of 41.25.

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#1 Ajit Agarkar

Current chairman of the BCCI selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, was the captain of Mumbai when Rohit Sharma last played the SMAT. Agarkar bowled a decent spell in that game, returning figures of 0/28 from four overs.

Agarkar played 26 Tests, 191 ODIs, and four T20Is. Rohit and Agarkar were together in the Indian team when they won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007. They later united in different roles when Rohit was the captain, and Agarkar became the Chief Selector.