Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26: Full Squads, Captains & Key Updates
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025/26 will begin in Lucknow on November 26 and run until December 8. Mumbai are the tournament’s defending champions. They defeated Madhya Pradesh last season under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, who is not part of this year’s squad. Ajinkya Rahane returns to the side as the domestic T20 season gets underway.
Squads across states have gone through key changes, with several big names returning to domestic cricket and a few notable exclusions. The domestic T20 tournament will also act as an audition for players ahead IPL auction set to take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
Below are all the major squad updates for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26 season.
Mumbai
India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has been named in Mumbai’s squad, but Shardul Thakur will lead the 17-member side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26. Suryakumar and Shivam Dube are available only for the first four matches due to the South Africa T20I series. Shardul Thakur will be playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026 after a trade deal.
Mumbai’s squad features heavy hitters like Sarfaraz Khan, Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Sairaj Patil, while India pacer Tushar Deshpande and all-rounder Tanush Kotian strengthen the attack. Siddhesh Lad, who is in excellent Ranji Trophy form with 530 runs in five matches, also earned a spot.
Mumbai squad: Shardul Thakur (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Sairaj Patil, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Atharva Ankolekar, Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Tushar Deshpande, Irfan Umair, Hardik Tamore (wk)
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu have handed the T20 captaincy to Varun Chakravarthy, currently the No.1-ranked T20I bowler. This marks his first leadership role at any level. Narayan Jagadeesan will serve as vice-captain. Tushar Raheja, the standout performer from TNPL 2025, has been added to the squad. The side features many experienced domestic players like Shahrukh Khan, Sai Kishore, T Natarajan and R Silambarasan.
Tamil Nadu squad: Varun Chakravarthy (capt), Narayan Jagadeesan (vice-capt, wk), Tushar Raheja (wk), VP Amit Sathvik, M Shahrukh Khan, Andre Siddarth, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Shivam Singh, R Sai Kishore, M Siddharth, T Natarajan, Gurjapneet Singh, A Esakkimuthu, R Sonu Yadav, R Silambarasan, S Rithik Easwaran (wk)
Kerala
Kerala have announced that Sanju Samson will continue as their skipper for the upcoming Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy. Under Samson, Kerala have built a strong squad that includes Vishnu Vinod, Ahammed Imran, Ankit Sharma and IPL 2025 debutant for Mumbai Indians, Vignesh Puthur. The batting unit looks experienced while the bowling attack is well-balanced.
Kerala squad: Sanju Samson (C/WK), Rohan S Kunnummal, Mohammed Azharuddeen M (WK), Ahammed Imran (VC), Vishnu Vinod (WK), Nidheesh M.D, Asif KM, Akhil Scaria, Biju Narayanan N., Ankit Sharma, Krishna Devan R.J, Abdul Bazith P.A, Sharafuddeen N.M, Sibin P Gireesh, Krishna Prasad, Saly V Samson, Vignesh Puthur, Salman Nizar
Delhi
Delhi have appointed Nitish Rana as captain for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26. Ayush Badoni is also part of the squad. Senior pacers Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini have been included but are subject to fitness tests. Harshit Rana is on international duty with Team India. The young group features Priyansh Arya, Suyash Sharma, Simarjeet Singh and Prince Yadav. A notable omission from the squad is Digvesh Rathi. He had a heated moment with Nitish Rana in a T20 match recently. However, the reason for his exclusion is not yet clear.
Delhi squad: Nitish Rana (C), Arpit Rana, Priyansh Arya, Sarthak Ranjan, Ayush Badoni, Ayush Doseja, Mayank Rawat, Tejasvi, Anuj Rawat, Yash Dhull, Himmat Singh, Rohan Rana, Dhruv Kaushik, Aryan Rana, Vaibhav Khandpal, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Dagar, Yash Bhatia, Ankit Rajesh Kumar, Harsh Tyagi, Suyash Sharma, Prince Yadav, Money Grewal
Subject to availability: Ishant Sharma, Harshit Rana, Navdeep Saini
Vidarbha
Vidarbha will be led by all-rounder Harsh Dubey who debuted for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025, with Yash Thakur as vice-captain. Umesh Yadav will also return to domestic T20 cricket in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Last year’s captain Jitesh Sharma misses out due to India A and national commitments. The squad also has Atharva Taide and Darshan Nalkande as established players.
Vidarbha squad: Harsh Dubey (C), Yash Thakur (VC), Atharva Taide, Dhruv Shorey, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, Shivam Deshmukh (wk), Akshay Wadkar, Nachiket Bhute, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Kadam, Varun Bisht, Parth Rekhade, Umesh Yadav, Praful Hinge, Deepesh Parwani, Adhyayan Daga
Bengal
Bengal have included senior pacer Mohammed Shami, who took 20 wickets in 4 Ranji Trophy matches earlier this season. The squad will be led by Abhimanyu Easwaran. Keeper-batter Abhishek Porel also returns. India bowler Akash Deep will join Shami in the bowling unit while all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed has also been added to the squad.
Bengal squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Sudip Gharami, Abhishek Porel (WK), Shakir Habib Gandhi (WK), Yuvraj Keswani, Priyanshu Srivastav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pradipta Pramanik, Writtick Chatterjee, Karan Lal, Saksham Chaudhary, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Yudhajit Guha, Shreyan Chakraborty
Maharashtra
India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad will captain Maharashtra. Prithvi Shaw, in strong Ranji form including a double ton, joins the squad along with Rahul Tripathi, Mukesh Choudhary and young star Rajvardhan Hangargekar. Jalaj Saxena and Vicky Ostwal are players to watch out for.
Maharashtra squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Prithvi Shaw, Arshin Kulkarni, Rahul Tripathi, Azim Kazi, Nikhil Naik (WK), Ramakrishna Ghosh, Vicky Ostwal, Tanay Sanghvi, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Mandar Bhandari (WK), Jalaj Saxena, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Yogesh Dongare, Ranjit Nikam
Jammu & Kashmir
J&K have named Shubham Khajuria as captain for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26. The squad features express pacer Umran Malik, power-hitter Abdul Samad and in-form all-rounder Auqib Nabi who’s been performing very well in the Ranji Trophy. Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin joins as the guest player.
Jammu & Kashmir squad: Qamran Iqbal, Shubham Khajuria (c), Vivrant Sharma, Musaif Aijaz, Abdul Samad, Yawer Hassan, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (vc), Abid Mushtaq, Vanshaj Sharma, Murugan Ashwin, Yudhvir Singh, Auqib Nabi, Umran Malik, Nasir Lone, Sunil Kumar
Karnataka
Karnataka will be led by Mayank Agarwal. The squad includes Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, Prasidh Krishna, Vidwath Kaverappa and leg spinner Shreyas Gopal. The availability of players like KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna depends on their national commitments. Manish Pandey has been dropped from last year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad.
Karnataka squad: Mayank Agarwal (capt), Macneil H Noronha, K.L. Shrijith, Karun Nair, R. Smaran, Abhinav Manohar, Shreyas Gopal, Shikhar Shetty, Vidwath Kaverappa, Vidyadhar Patil, Shreevathsa Acharya, Shubhang Hegde, Pravin Dubey, B.R. Sharath, Devdutt Padikkal
Jharkhand
For Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26, Jharkhand have appointed Ishan Kishan as their captain. The squad includes IPL names Kumar Kushagra, Anukul Roy, Robin Minz and Virat Singh. Virat Singh, who made his IPL debut with Sunrisers Hyderabad but has been irregular in domestic since, will return to the squad.
Jharkhand squad: Ishan Kishan (C/WK), Utkarsh Singh, Virat Singh, Kumar Kushagra (WK/VC), Robin Minz, Anukul Roy, Pankaj Kumar, Bala Krishna, Md Kounain Qureshi, Shubh Sharma, Amit Kumar, Manishi, Sushant Mishra, Vikas Singh, Saurabh Shekhar, Rajandeep Singh
Hyderabad
Hyderabad will be led by Chama Milind during Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26, with Tanay Thyagarajan serving as vice-captain. Five players, including Nitish Kumar Reddy, have been named as stand-byes. Reddy is on international duty with Team India. Tanmay Agarwal and Ashish Srivastava are players to watch out for.
Hyderabad squad: Chama Milind (capt), Tanay Thyagarajan (vice-capt), Tanmay Agarwal, Aman Rao, HK Simha, Ashish Srivastava, Nitesh Kanala, Ajay Dev Goud, Sai Pragnay Reddy (wk), Bhavesh Seth (wk), Nitin Sai Yadav, Rakshann Readdi, Md Afraz, Rishiket Sisodia, Rahul Budhi
Stand-byes: Mickhil Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dheeraj Goud (wk), Dinesh Rathod, Pranav Varma
For all the fixtures of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26, click here.
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