The cricketing landscape is pretty vast in India. There’s an insane following for the sport in this part of the world. And it’s quite evident from the large number of youngsters taking up cricket to make a career.
To make it to the top, that is, to play for India, one needs to first grind in the domestic circuit. They feature in the top domestic tournaments organised by the BCCI to grab the attention of national selectors.
Among those several tournaments, there’s one competition that opens doors to not just one but two opportunities. The first one is to represent India, and the other is a lucrative IPL deal.
Now you must be wondering which trophy we are talking about. It’s the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It’s a domestic T20 tournament in India.
In this piece, we’ll glance at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy’s history and its winners.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: History
You must be aware that the IPL started in 2008. But the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) kicked off a year before that.
The BCCI organised the SMAT, then known as the Inter-State Twenty-20 Tournament, on an experimental basis in April 2007. Tamil Nadu won the inaugural season by beating Punjab in the final with two wickets to spare.
After the inaugural season, the governing body didn’t organise the T20 tournament for two years. Meanwhile, the BCCI flagged off the IPL with much enthusiasm, making it an instant hit among the Indian audience.
The IPL provided many Indian and international stars an opportunity to showcase their talent along with bagging massive deals. However, not many local Indian players were getting the opportunity to play in the cash-rich league.
So after a gap of two seasons, the BCCI brought back the Inter-State Twenty-20 tournament in March 2010. The board officially named the tournament after former Indian cricketer Syed Mushtaq Ali. Since then, the BCCI has held the SMAT every season, with several state teams participating in it.
Who is Syed Mushtaq Ali?
Syed Mushtaq Ali was a former cricketer who played for India even before the country got independence. In fact, he was the first Indian batter to score an overseas Test century in 1936.
Mushtaq Ali had a short Test career, which spanned 11 matches, scoring 612 runs and two hundreds. But he was a stalwart in first-class cricket, amassing 13213 runs and taking 162 wickets with his left-arm spin.
The right-hand batter was also part of India’s first-ever Test match win in 1952. That match, though, turned out to be his last Test appearance.
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What’s the format of the Syed Mushtaq Trophy, and how many teams participate?
Before the 2017 season, 27 teams featured in the tournament, but now 38 teams contest in the SMAT.
All these teams, spread across five groups, fight out in a single round-robin format to clinch the trophy. You can read more about SMAT’s format and the participant teams here.
Which is the most successful team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy?
Tamil Nadu, who were the inaugural champions, are the most successful team in SMAT’s history. The Southern state team has won the T20 competition three times.
Here are the season-by-season winners of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Winners
| Season | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2006/07 | Tamil Nadu | Punjab |
| 2009/10 | Maharashtra | Hyderabad |
| 2010/11 | Bengal | Madhya Pradesh |
| 2011/12 | Baroda | Punjab |
| 2012/13 | Gujarat | Punjab |
| 2013/14 | Baroda | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2014/15 | Gujarat | Punjab |
| 2015/16 | Uttar Pradesh | Baroda |
| 2016/17 | East Zone | Central Zone |
| 2017/18 | Delhi | Rajasthan |
| 2018/19 | Karnataka | Maharashtra |
| 2019/20 | Karnataka | Tamil Nadu |
| 2020/21 | Tamil Nadu | Baroda |
| 2021/22 | Tamil Nadu | Karnataka |
| 2022/23 | Mumbai | Himachal Pradesh |
| 2023/24 | Punjab | Baroda |
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