The biggest T20 tournament of the country’s domestic cricket i.e. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is starting from tomorrow i.e. Wednesday. This year, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, all eyes will be on star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is returning from injury. Many star players of Indian cricket will be seen in action in this tournament. Also, young talented domestic cricketers would like to grab attention by performing well before the IPL auction.

Hardik Pandya has not played competitive cricket since suffering an injury during the Asia Cup in September. Before the T20 World Cup to be held in India in February-March, Hardik will play only T20 format. This tournament is his only chance to prove his fitness before the T20 series against South Africa starting on 9 December.

This year, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches will be played in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Lucknow. The Mumbai team captained by Shardul Thakur will emerge as the defending champion. Baroda team will play seven group matches till December 8 and head coach Mukund Parmar expects Hardik Pandya to play in most of the matches. Baroda coach Mukund Parmar said, “He (Hardik Pandya) is not yet associated with the team, but we are hopeful that he will play most of the matches. His presence will boost the morale of the team.”

Captain Suryakumar Yadav will also play most of the group matches for Mumbai. Shivam Dubey is also a part of the Mumbai team. Whereas spinner Varun Chakraborty has been made the captain of Tamil Nadu who will play in the group stage. Kerala captain Sanju Samson will also be seen in the group stage.

Prithvi Shaw, who was once considered the future star of Indian cricket, was not bought by any IPL team in the auction last year. Now he plays not for Mumbai but for Maharashtra in domestic cricket. He would also like to stake his claim for a comeback by performing well.

Nitish Rana will captain Delhi. Assam captain Riyan Parag and Madhya Pradesh’s Venkatesh Iyer will also be eyeing better performance. Kolkata Knight Riders, who bought Iyer for Rs 23.75 crore, has released him.

The Mumbai team for the 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy has been announced. The surprising thing is that despite the presence of Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dubey and Sarfaraz Khan in the team, bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been given the command of the team. Mumbai is the defending champion of this tournament.

Mumbai won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy title last year under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, but due to injury, he is not a part of the current team. KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane is also included in the team. The team includes Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Hardik Tamor as wicketkeepers. Besides, fast bowler Tushar Deshpande and spin all-rounder Tanush Kotian have also got a place.

Mumbai team will play its first match in Lucknow on 26th November.

Siddhesh Lad, who has scored 530 runs with the help of three centuries and one half-century in five matches so far in the first phase of Ranji Trophy this season, has also been included in the team. The Mumbai team will play against Railways in Lucknow on 26 November in its first match of the tournament.

Let us tell you that the elite division of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy will be organized from 26 November to 18 December. The first round of the competition will be played in Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, while the knockout round will be held in Indore.

T20 series against South Africa from 9 December

Let us tell you that the Indian cricket team has to play a five-match T20 series against South Africa from December 9. In such a situation, senior players like Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dubey will be able to play only a few matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Mumbai team for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy- Shardul Thakur (captain), Hardik Tamore (wicketkeeper), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wicketkeeper), Ajinkya Rahane, Ayush Mhatre, Suryakumar Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dubey, Sairaj Patil, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Atharva Ankolekar, Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Tushar Deshpande and Irfan Umair.