India’s premier domestic men’s T20 tournament - the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy - is back for a new season, bringing fresh challenges and new opportunities for seasoned campaigners as well as up and coming talent in the white-ball format. After an action-packed 2025-26 season that saw multiple firsts, including first-time title winners Jharkhand, the 2026-27 season promises to bring more exciting storylines as players across the country aim to leave their mark on the big stage.

Ishan Kishan-led Jharkhand beat Haryana by 69 runs in last year’s final at the MCA Stadium in Pune to clinch a historic maiden title. Kishan smashed 101(49) in the final to propel Jharkhand to 262/3 and finished the tournament as the leading run-getter, while Anukul Roy was adjudged the Player of the Tournament.

Format, groups, and schedule

38 teams will battle it out for the biggest prize on the Indian domestic T20 circuit from November 14th to December 6th, 2026, with 32 teams in the Elite Group and six teams in the Plate Group. The 32 teams in the Elite competition will be divided into four groups of eight teams each, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the Super League stage.

The Super League stage will then see the top eight teams being divided into two groups of four teams, with each team playing the other three teams in their respective group once. The table-toppers in the Super League will then play the Final.

The six teams in the Plate competition will compete in a 15-match group stage with the top 2 teams playing for the title on November 24th.

Elite Group A: Baroda, Bengal, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh.

Elite Group B: Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Railways, Saurashtra, Tamil Nadu.

Elite Group C: Andhra, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Pondicherry, Tripura.

Elite Group D: Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Vidarbha.

Plate Group: Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Services, Sikkim.

Players to watch out for

The biggest story to watch out for this season will be 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has been named captain of Bihar for their first two matches. As Sooryavanshi strides out for the toss in Bihar’s campaign opener against Saurashtra in Indore on November 14, he will become the youngest player ever to captain a side in T20 cricket.

Having already become the youngest centurion in SMAT history with his knock of 108*(61) against Maharashtra last season, this will be another major feat in the teenager’s name.

Team India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 winning captain Surya Kumar Yadav will lead two-time SMAT winners Mumbai, who have also named Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur, and Sarfaraz Khan in their squad.

Anukul Roy has been named captain of defending champions Jharkhand, with regular captain Ishan Kishan away on international duty. The squad also includes Sushant Mishra, who finished their victorious 2026-26 campaign as the joint-highest wicket taker.

Krunal Pandya is set to lead Baroda, Mohd. Shami and Mukesh Kumar have both been named in the Bengal squad, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar is part of the UP side. Led by R. Smaran, Karnataka’s squad (first three matches) will also feature experienced campaigners like Manish Pandey and Karun Nair, alongside 22-year-old all-rounder Manvanth Kumar who has impressed in the Ranji Trophy so far.

Chinmay Sutar has taken the Ranji Trophy season by storm with 834 runs in 5 innings during the first phase of the season, and he is part of Mizoram’s SMAT side. Other in-form players to watch out for include Delhi captain Ayush Badoni, Punjab’s Salil Arora, and Tamil Nadu skipper Sai Kishore. Jaydev Unadkat, who is the leading wicket-taker in SMAT history with 128 wickets in 87 matches, is set to lead Saurashtra. Meanwhile, Umesh Yadav will represent Punjab for the first time in SMAT.

Sanju Samson has been named captain of Kerala and Rajat Patidar will walk out to lead Madhya Pradesh. Prithvi Shaw and Ruturaj Gaikwad are both part of Maharashtra’s squad, with Gaikwad set to join the team after completing international duties for Team India in New Zealand.

Vidarbha, aiming to win their maiden SMAT title, are led by the experienced Atharva Taide, with the likes of Aman Mokhade, Danish Malewar, and Nachiket Bhute also in the squad.

The strong contenders

Defending champions Jharkhand will aim to keep their winning run going and become only the third team to win back-to-back titles after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu remain the most successful team in the tournament with three titles to their name, and are searching for their first title since the 2021-22 season. Mumbai, who won the tournament twice between 2022 and 2025, will be in contention again. So will Karnataka, who won back-to-back titles in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Among other two-time former champions are Baroda and Gujarat, with both teams aiming to win their respective first titles in over 10 years.

Last year’s finalists, Haryana, who have last season’s second-highest run-getter Ankit Kumar in the squad alongside Yuzvendra Chahal, will be another team to watch out for. Maharashtra and UP, who won the title in 2019-10 and 2015-16 respectively, will pose a strong challenge. So will 2017-18 winners Delhi and 2023-24 champions Punjab.

Among the teams in the hunt for their maiden title, Jammu and Kashmir, Vidarbha, and Hyderabad will be teams to keep a keen eye on.