The former Mumbai Indians youngster played a pivotal role in taking his team to the semi-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26.
After being released by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2026 season, youngster Harvik Desai has slammed a ton in the quarter-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 to take his team over the line against Uttar Pradesh.
The Saurashtra skipper turned up for the high-intensity clash and scored an unbeaten century while chasing a stiff total of 311. Prerak Mankad also contributed to the chase with a steady 67, but it was the opener Harvik Desai who took the team over the line.
The Harvik Desai-led team won the clash by 17 runs, through the Vjayadevan’s Jayadevan (VJD) system, which acts as an alternative to the Duckworth-Lewis system which is followed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Saurashtra were 238/3 in 40.1 overs when the match could not be played further.
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It seems as if Harvik Desai has decided to answer his release from the Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2026 with the bat, instead of choosing any other medium. The 26-year-old has had a magnificent season in the 50-over domestic competition, and will hope to continue his form in the semi-final.
The Saurashtra skipper kicked off the campaign with a five off 14 balls against Odisha, but soon bounced back with a dazzling 101 against Haryana. And from there, the former Mumbai Indians star was never short of runs. In the next six matches including the quarter-final, Desai slammed four 50+ scores, two of which were big hundreds.
Harvik Desai was named as a replacement by the five-time IPL champions for the injured Vishnu Vinod in the 2024 season. Moreover, his T20 records boast of good numbers, which resemble his skillset as a batter.
Not just the white-ball, Harvik Desai is one of the mainstays for Saurashtra in the red-ball format as well. His batting relies a lot on pure cricketing shots, and is backed by a good sense of game awareness. It was not long ago when he went berserk in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT).
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