Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20: Tournament preview

The 11th edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will feature 38 teams, including the latest inductee, Chandigarh. The teams are split into five groups, and unlike the Ranji Trophy or the Vijay Hazare Trophy, teams from each of the five groups have an equal chance of qualifying for the next round.

Two teams from each group will proceed to the next round, where they will be split into two groups, from which two will play in the final. This edition is set to kick off with 18 matches across five groups, all on the first day of the tournament, November 8.

Defending champions Karnataka, who also won the Vijay Hazare Trophy last month, are placed in Group A alongside Andhra, Baroda, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Services. Maharashtra, who had finished second last season, are in Group C, while third-placed Bengal and fourth-placed Mumbai are both in Group D.

All eyes will be on Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mumbai’s teenage sensation who took the Vijay Hazare Trophy by storm. Some cricketers currently on national duty against Bangladesh – KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Washington Sundar – are likely return to boost their respective sides once the T20I series gets over.

The tournament has so far been won by Tamil Nadu (2006-07, when it used to be called the Inter-State T20 Championship), Maharashtra (2009-10), Bengal (2010-11), Baroda (2011-12 and 2013-14), Gujarat (2012-13 and 2014-15), Uttar Pradesh (2015-16), East Zone (2016-17, when the tournament went zonal), Delhi (2017-18), and Karnataka (2018-19).