Baseball United has signed six Indian talents to represent Mumbai Cross for its inaugural season, starting November 14 in Dubai's Baseball United Ballpark.
The Mumbai franchise, India’s first-ever professional baseball team, will take center-stage against the Karachi Monarchs.
“This is a historic moment for sport in India,” said Kash Shaikh, Baseball United Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder. “We know that cricket is king in India" but it's no long before Baseball finds its fans base.
Among the players are three homegrown talents from Maharashtra - 23-year-old Saurabh Gaikwad from Pangari, who has been playing baseball for the last 11 years; 21-year-old Akshay More from Pune who was named “Best Pitcher” in the All India Inter University Baseball Championship in 2023 and 2025; and finally Tushar Lalwani (22) from Mumbai who has pitched in four University National Championships and in Baseball United Arab Classic in 2024.
The other three are Indian-Americans. Karan Patel, 28, from Houston made history in 2019 by becoming the first player of Indian descent to be drafted by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, while Raul Shah, 31, a second baseman from Chatham, UK was a member of the Great Britain National Team for the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. Aaron Singh, 28, a shortstop from California spent four years at the University of Redlands where he was all-conference, all-region, and All-American while earning the ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove at shortstop.
The league will open with the “Subcontinent Series”, three games between Mumbai and the Karachi Monarchs. Overall, four teams - including the Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons - will compete in a month-long season, with the top two teams advancing to the best-of-three championship, United Series, on December 12–14.
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