Stage set for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament

Star Power: Hardik Pandya will be the main attraction in the domestic T20 competition. File
| Photo Credit: AP

At the best of times, domestic cricket struggles to attract eyeballs. With India’s marquee Test tour of Australia having begun in Perth and the IPL mega auction to take place in Jeddah on November 24 and 25, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is likely to fade into insignificance when it begins on Saturday (November 22, 2024). The domestic T20 competition features 38 teams divided into five groups, and will be held across six centres — Rajkot, Indore, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Hyderabad. Punjab, which is in Group A, is the defending champion.

The timing of the T20 tournament isn’t ideal, given that it begins just a day before the IPL auction. In recent years, the competition has usually finished before the bidding wars take centrestage, serving as a platform for IPL franchises to scout young talent. But with the BCCI beginning the 2024-25 domestic season by staging the first five rounds of the Ranji Trophy, primarily to avoid First-Class matches in the north being disrupted by fog and bad light in harsh winter, the domestic T20 tournament won’t have the same relevance this time around.

It is a bit of a disservice to the young players looking to get a taste of the IPL, because noteworthy performances for their respective states in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will come a little too late in regards to fetching a bid for the next edition of the cash-rich league. But they will have to do their bit and hope for a backdoor entry perhaps as an injury replacement in the IPL.

The domestic tournament also features a few senior pros with their own targets to tick. Pacer Mohammed Shami is part of the Bengal squad as he looks to enhance his match fitness before potentially joining the India Test squad in Australia. Hardik Pandya, who is set to turn out for Baroda, will hope to play the entire tournament and make an all-round impact, having recently lost out to Suryakumar Yadav for the post of India T20 captain because of persisting concerns over his fitness. Ishant Sharma, in the twilight of his decorated career, has made himself available for Delhi.