Tamil Nadu announce squad for SMAT 2024-25, Shahrukh Khan appointed captain
Gujarat Titans and Tamil Nadu batter Shahrukh Khan has been appointed as the captain of the Tamil Nadu squad that will participate in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). A 17-man squad was announced earlier today, November 11.
The three-time champions of the tournament have announced a squad that seems to have all the bases covered. Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan has been announced as the deputy to Shahrukh Khan with Vijay Shankar, Pradosh Ranjan Paul and Baba Indrajith being the other big names in the batting lineup.
Tamil Nadu has also gone with a spin-heavy bowling unit, with R Sai Kishore, Manimaran Siddharth and Varun Chakravarthy being called up to the side. The squad also sees Sandeep Warrier make the cut along with Gurjanpreet Singh, who caught everyone's attention during the first round of games in the Ranji Trophy.
The squad also includes T Natarajan, who has been left out due to injury and G Ajitesh, who was left out in favour of Rithik Easwaran. Andre Siddarth C and Boopathi Vaishna Kumar have been rewarded with call-ups as well after impressive showings in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).
Tamil Nadu is a part of Group B in the tournament, which features Tripura, Sikkim, Baroda, Gujarat, Karnataka, Saurashtra and Uttarakhand. They will play their tournament opener on November 23 against Tripura with their last league-stage game against Uttarakhand scheduled for Thursday, December 5.
Tamil Nadu squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25: Shahrukh Khan M (c), Sai Sudharsan B (vc), Vijay Shankar, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Boopathi Vaishna Kumar, Mohamed Ali S, Andre Siddarth C, Jagadeesan N (wk), Indrajith B, Rithik Easwaran S (wk), Sai Kishore R, Siddharth M, Varun C V, Sandeep Warrier, Gurjapneet Singh, Sonu Yadav R, Mohammed M.
Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2024-25 to commence from November 23
The 17th edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy kicks off on Saturday, November 23. The tournament will feature 38 teams split across five groups with the group stage ending on December 5.
The knockout stages commence on December 9, with the finals to be played on Sunday, December 15.