Baseball United signs six Indian talents for inaugural season

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.