The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 is all set to commence on November 23, Saturday, with 38 teams in contention for the domestic T20 title.
As the pace of the format has picked up drastically since the IPL 2024 season, the upcoming edition will witness several India and IPL stars in action.
Format of the Tournament
The tournament divides 38 teams into five groups with groups A, B, and C comprising eight teams while groups D and E have seven teams each.
The top two teams from all five groups will qualify for the knockouts. While the five group-toppers will make it directly to the quarter-finals, the second-placed sides will be ranked from 6-10. The sixth-ranked team will also proceed to the quarterfinals while teams 7-10 will meet in two pre-quarterfinal contests to proceed.
In the 2022 season, the BCCI added the Impact Player rule in the tournament (which then went on to be used in the IPL) on an experimental basis, where a player could be substituted for a new player on the bench before the 14th over of the innings, and later made it more flexible by allowing the substitution at any stage of the game. However, the BCCI decided to scrap the rule for the upcoming season, as the rule didn’t sit well with the coaches and players.
Groups and Venues of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024
As aforementioned, the teams are divided into five groups, and each group’s matches will be played in a particular venue.
Group A: Bengal, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Bihar.
Venue: Group A matches will take place in the Niranjan Shah Stadium complex in Rajkot.
Group B: Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, Karnataka, Tripura, Baroda, Sikkim, Uttarakhand.
Venue: Group B matches will take place at the Holkar Stadium and the Emerald Heights International School Ground in Indore.
Group C: Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh.
Venue: Group C matches will be held in Sharad Pawar BKC Academy and Wankhede, Mumbai
Group D: Assam, Railways, Odisha, Vidarbha. Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Chandigarh
Venue: Group D are to play their matches in Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, and Dr PVG Raju ACA Sports Complex, Vizianagaram
Group E: Mumbai, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Services, Nagaland.
Venue: Group E are to play their matches in Gymkhana Ground and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
The knockout stage of the tournament will begin on December 3, with the final slated to be held on November 15. All knockout matches of the SMAT 2024-25 season will be held in Bengaluru.
SMAT 2024-25: Players to look out for
There are also a few high-profile names that will show up in the tournament this season. Shreyas Iyer has been named the captain for Mumbai, and after making a fiery comeback in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal, Mohammed Shami too will take part in the tournament, hoping to perform in a way to strengthens his chances for a comeback to the Indian side.
The Pandya brothers team up once again, with Krunal Pandya leading the side of Baroda and Hardik Pandya making a return to SMAT after January 2016. The last time Hardik played for Baroda was in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, leading the side for Uttar Pradesh, will look to give his all in the very first match to gear up for the upcoming IPL auction after being released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
SMAT 2024-25 Live Streaming Details
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy can be streamed live on Jio Cinema app and website from November 23.