Bhuvneshwar Kumar appointed Uttar Pradesh captain for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25; Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh also named in the squad

Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been announced as the Uttar Pradesh (UP) captain for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024-25. The 38-team tournament is set to take place from November 23 to December 15 across 12 different venues in the country.

UP have been slotted in Group C alongside Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Manipur, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand. They will begin their campaign on Saturday (November 23) against Delhi.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has previous experience of leading the Sunrisers Hyderabad side in the IPL. In eight games in charge of the franchise, he helped them register wins in two games and lost the remaining six.

Top-order batter Madhav Kaushik will serve as a deputy to Bhuvneshwar in the tournament. So far, he has garnered 346 runs in five innings in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 edition, with a top score of 163 against Punjab.

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Meanwhile, the squad features prominent names like Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, Yash Dayal, Piyush Chawla, Mohsin Khan and Shivam Mavi. Notably, the likes of Rinku, Yash and Mohsin have been retained by their respective franchises ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.

How did Uttar Pradesh perform in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023-24?

In the last edition of SMAT, Uttar Pradesh was captained by batting all-rounder Karan Sharma. UP finished second in their group with three wins in six games, with one being a washout. They prevailed over Karnataka but faced a defeat against Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

In the pre-quarter final, UP faced Gujarat. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for them as Gujarat were restricted to 127/8. Thereafter, Nitish Rana (71*) was the top contributor as UP sealed the chase under 19 overs.

The quarter-final stage saw them lock horns with Punjab. Riding on Rinku Singh's unbeaten knock of 77 off 33, UP posted a 169-run total. However, Punjab chased down the score in the final over and UP were eliminated.