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India’s first pro baseball team signs Indian-American players
The team will play the Karachi Monarchs in the league's first game on Nov.14 in Dubai.
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Staff Reporter - Fri, 19, Sep 2025
- 16:56 EDT
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Mumbai Cobras team to feature best Indian baseball talent. / Courtesy- Baseball United
Mumbai Cobras, India's inaugural professional baseball franchise, has signed three Indian-American players and three Indian players.
The team is set to compete in Baseball United, the first league of its kind to focus on the Middle East and South Asia. The team will play the Karachi Monarchs in the league's first game on Nov.14 in Dubai.
Also Read:Kumar Rocker creates history as Indian-American to debut in Major League Baseball
Among the Indian American players is pitcher Karan Patel, 28, of Houston, Texas, who became the first player of Indian descent drafted by a Major League Baseball team when the Chicago White Sox chose him in 2019.
He played at the AA level with the Birmingham Barons and most recently with the Lincoln Saltdogs. Patel was also the Cobras’ first overall draft pick in 2023.
Aaron Singh, 28, a shortstop from Artesia, California, earned All-American and Rawlings Gold Glove honors at the University of Redlands and most recently played for the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League.
Raul Shah, 31, a second baseman raised in the United Kingdom, represented Great Britain at the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. He previously played at Johns Hopkins University and with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League.
The India-born contingent includes Saurabh Gaikwad, 23, from Satara, Maharashtra; Akshay More, 21, from Pune; and Tushar Lalwani, 22, from Mumbai. All three have competed in national and international tournaments, including Baseball United’s Arab Classic in 2024.
Founded in Dubai in 2022, Baseball United currently has four franchises: the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves, and Mid East Falcons. The month-long season will end with the United Series championship scheduled for December 12–14. The league has previously staged exhibition events such as the All-Star Showcase in 2023 and the Arab Classic in 2024.
Kash Shaikh, chairman, chief executive, and co-founder of Baseball United, described the signings as a landmark for the sport in India, where cricket dominates but baseball has an estimated 53 million fans. More than 500 schools and universities in India field baseball and softball teams, including Lovely Professional University in Punjab, which won this year’s All India Inter University Baseball Championship. All three India-born Cobras players competed on that team.
“This is a historic moment for sport in India,” Shaikh said. “We know that cricket is king in India. But we believe that baseball is the country’s young prince. The core elements of the game are the same — you hit, catch, throw, and run. Once more Indians learn the game, I know they will start to love it. And one of the best ways to help people fall in love with baseball is through the Indian stars who will take the field for the Mumbai Cobras.”
The Cobras will begin their campaign in the “Subcontinent Series,” a three-game contest against the Karachi Monarchs in Dubai. The top two teams will advance to the United Series championship in December. The full roster will be released on September 19, with broadcast partners for the season expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
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