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Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: The nursery that provides T20 stars to Indian cricket

Come 10th of January and with the start of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Indian domestic cricket would once again be up and running after a long covid-19 hiatus. 38 teams representing various Indian regions would battle it out for the prestigious T20 crown. Total six cities will host the group stages of the tournament before the bandwagon moves to the largest Indian stadium, Motera for the knockout games. 

It is not without reason that this tournament has been chosen for starting the curtailed domestic season. In a short span of just 12 seasons since its inception in 2006-07 (it wasn’t played in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons) the shortest format tourney has carved a niche for itself. Seasoned stars like Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav, who have consistently set the stage on fire will be showcasing their skills in this edition. However, all eyes would be fixed on S. Sreesanth, the Indian fast bowler who is making a comeback in competitive cricket after seven long years. 

Why is it called Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy?

As it has been a tradition in Indian cricket of naming trophies after their own greats, this tourney is also renamed after starting off as an Inter-State zonal tournament where teams first competed with teams of their zone and then the zonal winners and runners up would be divided into two group and the group winners would compete with each other in the finals. 

The tournament was halted for two years with the launch of the Indian Premier League as the premium domestic T20 tournament. However, in 2009, the Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to bring the trophy back and renamed it after one of the most stylish and aggressive Indian batsmen Syed Mushtaq Ali, who represented the country in 11 Test matches.

Starting his career in 1936, he played the last game in 1952. In the domestic circuit though, the legend played more than 200 games and scored more than 13,000 runs, and picked 162 wickets. 

The changing nature of the tournament

After being repackaged in 2009, the tournament has seen a fair bit of tweaking in its format. Initially the tournament started with two stages of the competition, the zonal group stage and the final group stage. It was changed into two different stages of Zonal group stage and Knockouts in the year 2009. This continued till the 2011-12 season. 

With the start of the 2012-13 season, the knockout system was replaced with the Super League stage where the zonal winners and runners-up were redrawn into two groups and the winners of each group then competed in a final. 

Even this format couldn’t sustain its viability and the apex cricketing body in India decided to change the format once again in 2015-16 season. Instead of making teams compete on a zonal basis, they were drawn into four groups. The two teams from those four groups were then again re-drawn into two further groups with this stage being called the Super League stage. 

As if the structure hadn’t already been twisted enough, the BCCI came with a totally different plan in the very next season where after the zonal stage competition ended, combined zonal teams played in the Super League instead of the zonal winners. The winner and runner-up in this tournament were now decided on the basis of points, instead of a final being played to determine the winner. 

Too confusing, right?

As expected, this did not last past the season and the old format of teams first competing on a zonal basis and then participating in two groups in a Super League was reinstated for the 2017-18 tournament. 

Though previously it was the BCCI that was adventurous with the structure of the tournament, this time around the Supreme Court and Lodha Committee decided to play the ball. With the court asking the board to make sure that each state and union territory was represented in the domestic competitions of the BCCI, a total of 37 teams participated in the 2018-19 season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. 

The teams, instead of being divided into zones were divided into five groups with three groups having seven teams and two groups having eight teams. At the Super League stage, the top two teams from each group were divided into two groups and the winners then competed in the final. 

In the 2019-20 season, the same format continued with one change that after the Super League stage, instead of selecting the top two teams, the top four teams were selected and two semi-finals decided which two teams would finally compete for the trophy. 

Now in 2021, a totally new format, akin to any previous one has been introduced with the introduction of Plate groups on the ground of Ranji Trophy. With 38 teams divided into five Elite and one Plate groups, the top team from each group along with two best second-placed teams from the Elite groups will qualify for the knockout stage. 

At the knockout stage, the teams would compete with each other in the quarterfinals and semifinals before qualifying for the summit clash.  

The nursery of future stars

Right from the 2009-10 season, the Mushtaq Ali Trophy has battle hardened players for IPL. In the inaugural edition after the revamp, it nurtured the likes of Paul Valthaty and Shikhar Dhawan who made merry in the 2011 season of the IPL.  Another find of the tournament was Mohammed Shami, who played for the winning team Bengal that season in 2011. 

Usually held before the IPL, it became a consistent scouting procedure for the tournament from the 2012 edition onwards. Mayank Agarwal and Siddarth Kaul found their way into the IPL from the 2012 edition while Hardik Pandya found his way into the Mumbai set up from the 2013 edition. In the 2014 season, two Punjab players shone in both Mushtaq Ali as well as IPL and they were Sandeep Sharma and Manan Vohra. 

From Harpreet Singh to Aditya Tare to Jaydev Undakat and Ankit Rajpoot, you name the player in the current crop of the Indian setup or the IPL and he would have without a doubt done exceedingly well in the Mushtaq Ali before excelling at IPL or international level. The latest being Devdutt Padikkal and T. Natarajan. 

Most successful sides of the tournament

The best part of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy so far has been the uncertainty of winners. In the past 12 seasons, one can't pick out a particular team that has reigned supreme at the championship. Although with Karnataka’s rise in the last two seasons, it might become an incredible force in the history of the tournament. 

In total, three teams i.e. Karnataka, Baroda, and Gujarat have been able to win the trophy twice while Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh have won it once each. In one season, which was played between the zones, more on the lines of Duleep Trophy or Deodhar Trophy, the championship was won by East Zone. 

In terms of playing the finals, Punjab has the most number of appearances. In total, the north Indian state has reached four finals but hasn’t been able to win any. 

While Tamil Nadu won the inaugural edition in 2006-07, defeating Punjab in the finals, Maharashtra defeated Hyderabad in 2009-10 finals. Bengal then won the 2010-11 season defeating Madhya Pradesh, it was the same season where Madhya Pradesh star Harpreet Singh even shone with Deccan Chargers in the IPL. 

Post that Punjab qualified for two finals, beating Baroda in 2011-12 and Gujarat in 2012-13. The two Gujarat sides also shared the next two trophies when Baroda defeated Uttar Pradesh in 2013-14 and Gujarat defeated Punjab once again in 2014-15. Uttar Pradesh won their inaugural title in the 2015-16 season exacting their revenge of the 2013-14 season by defeating Baroda in the finals. 

While the 2016-17 season was a zonal affair, the capital Delhi won the 2017-18 thrilling season by defeating Rajasthan in a lame encounter in the final. The next two seasons have been won by Karnataka which will be looking to make a hat trick this season.  

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IPL 2021 Auctions: A look at purse balance of franchises

The IPL 2021 is likely to take place on February 11. The franchises are expected to release a lot of players while they are set to reveal the list of retained players on January 20. But first here we take a look at how much money each franchise side has in its purse. Chennai Super Kings The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) led by MS Dhoni has Rs 15 lakh for now in their purse. CSK’s purse balance though is expected to go up as they are likely to release a lot of players. Squad: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, M Vijay, Narayan Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Josh Hazlewood, Kedar Jadhav, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Imran Tahir , Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Monu Kumar, Shane Watson, Sai Kishore Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians who won the 2020 IPL edition have a purse balance of Rs 1.95 crore. The franchise is more or less sorted. MI have lifted the trophy five times, most by any team. CSK have won it thrice while Kolkata Knight Riders have been crowned champions twice. Squad: Rohit Sharma, Sherfane Rutherford, Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Digvijay Deshmukh, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Aditya Tare. Royal Challengers Bangalore Virat Kohl-led Royal Challengers Bangalore who are still in pursuit of their first title win have a purse balance of Rs 6.4 crore. Squad: Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Joshua Philippe, Kane Richardson, Pavan Deshpande, Dale Steyn, Shahbaz Ahamad, Isuru Udana Kolkata Knight Riders The two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders have a purse balance of Rs 8.5 crore. KKR appointed Eoin Morgan as the news captain of the side earlier. Squad: Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Praveen Tambe, Nikhil Naik Delhi Capitals The 2020 finalist Delhi Capitals had a decent run in the last season and would seek to get their hands on the trophy for the first time in 2021 edition. DC who is led by Shreyas iyer has Rs 9 crore in their purse. Squad: Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Daniel Sams, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Marcus Stoinis, Anrich Nortje, Rishabh Pant, Alex Carey, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande Kings XI Punjab Kings XI Punjab have might have some big names in their ranks but haven’t been much impressive in the IPL. They presently have Rs 16.5 crore as their purse balance. Squad: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Sheldon Cottrell, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, M Ashwin, J Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Darshan Nalkande, Glenn Maxwell, James Neesham, Chris Jordan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, Nicholas Pooran, Prabhsimran Singh Sunrisers Hyderabad Sunrisers Hyderabad who were crowned champions in 2016 have Rs 10.1 Crore in their purse. Captain David Warner has said that Kane Williamson is not leaving the team for now. Squad: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Billy Stanlake, T Natarajan, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sanjay Yadav, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Bavanaka Sandeep, Basil Thampi Rajasthan Royals The inaugural edition’s champions Rajasthan Royals have 14.75 Crore. Squad: Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Steve Smith, Robin Uthappa, David Miller, Ankit Rajpoot, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Akash Singh, Oshane Thomas, Andrew Tye, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tewatia, Shashank Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anirudha Joshi, Tom Curran, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Anuj Rawat

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Inside out | Pujara not lone culprit as Indian batting in Sydney ratify Kohli’s call for intent

One of the familiar-faced pundits on the Indian television and sports media, former Indian player Ajay Jadeja keeps reiterating a point about how challenging the task of being successful at the international stage is. Jadeja argues that, if a batsman seeks to dominate at the top, he is always kept under added tactical scrutiny of the opposition and hence constant evolution is the only way to remain successful for a long period of time. To add to Jadeja's remarks, commentator Harsha Bhogle states that your action on the field does not necessarily follow your success from the past, rather the might you show and what you do on the field while playing, establish how great you are as a player. But why are these two narratives relevant today? These are relevant today as India have allowed the ongoing Test at the SCG to slip away from their grasp due to their inept attitude and timid approach with the bat in hand. Two of India's most experienced batsmen have played right into Australia’s hands by failing to evolve their game according to the situation and challenges thrown by the home side. Pujara batted valiantly for his 50 runs from 176 balls, and two batsmen around him—Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane took 38 balls for 4 runs, and 70 balls for 22 runs respectively. Both Rahane and Pujara failed to read the game and dug a big hole for themselves and the team. A hole, that their captain Virat Kohli has termed ‘playing without intent’ over the years. Pujara's tactics from the third day of the Sydney Test was highly successful on the last tour of Australia as he was successful in wearing down the Australian bowlers. Pujara scored three centuries and one 70 in the last Test series and each of his successful innings took a lot of balls. In the first Test at Adelaide in 2018, he played 246 balls in the first innings to score 123 runs, while the score of 71 in the second innings took as many as 204 balls. He went a step further and consumed 319 balls to score 106 runs in the Melbourne Test, but he came back to strike rate in excess of 50 runs per 100 balls in his near double ton at the same SCG two years back. The ploy of occupying the crease worked well for both him and the team in the last series as the Australian bowlers kept coming at him trying to induce edge off him outside the off stump. It worked well as Australian bowlers started losing steam after Pujara won the game of patience, but the story seems to be coming out differently from the first Test in the series. Australian bowlers have shown signs of coming at Pujara with a revamped strategy of attacking the line much closer to his off stump, and have packed the leg-side field along to deny him easy singles to the mid wicket region. Pujara has been thinking (possibly) that he could outsmart them again with his patience but that is not quite the case this time around. Pujara has been guilty of playing such straight and dead bats that even half volleys on the leg stump have not been attempted to score on. He has allowed the likes of Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and also Lyon to keep attacking him at a particular line and length. Apart from the maturity and the development of the Australian pacers, another factor proving detrimental for Pujara is the absence of Virat Kohli after him in the batting order. The sheer presence of Virat Kohli and other batsmen such as Rahane and Mayank Agarwal who batted with relatively more freedom provided the team with a breathing space at the other end as Pujara kept on batting like a monk throughout the series. Hence, the running out of steam and pure lack of momentum by the Indian batting unit on the third day of the Test can’t be burdened on Pujara’s shoulders alone as both Rahane and Vihari had a massive role to play in keeping the scoreboard ticking while Pujara was biding his time and trying to grind the Australians down. Pujara however should get a fair share of the blame for being found out against a high-quality attack that will test not only technique but also the mental capacity of any batsman. In his case, they have certainly opened a chink in the armour, as they have understood the right hander's patience game against both short and full balls. Now, they have started targeting him with deliveries pitched at short of good lengths and on the line closer to the off stump as Pujara has been repetitively caught in no man’s land to edge behind the keeper. Cummins has dismissed Pujara four times in the series and has looked threatening with his rising deliveries as Pujara has been guilty of not using his back foot, and playing the ball in awkward positions. But to his credit, had it not been for his fifty, India would have been in for a massive leather hunt on the third day and fourth day against the likes of Smith and Labuschagne. The sluggishness in the batting started when Shubman Gill departed after hitting his maiden fifty in Test cricket. Unfortunately for India, the slide started from thereon as both Rahane and Pujara clearly started to look beyond the next ball they were to face and focus more on surviving the day than putting the hosts on the backfoot. At the end of the second day, Rahane 4 was unbeaten at 4 from 40 balls while Pujara was holding his guards strong at 9 from 53 deliveries and India were 96/2 from 45 overs, out of which 12 overs were played by the duo of Rahane and Pujara that yielded a mere 10 runs. It establishes the shell both the batsmen went in while looking to play it safe for the stumps on the second day. On the third day morning, the story was exactly similar as both Rahane and Pujara could take out only 6 runs off the first six overs of the day before Rahane showing signs of cutting loose as he drove Starc imperiously between cover and mid-off and followed up with stepping out to hit Lyon for a six. The response established that India’s skipper understood that the game hadn't gone away from the Australians, instead, a couple of wickets would give the hosts a real sniff to get back in the game. On the other hand, Pujara was batting the way he has done throughout his career at 16 runs off 100 balls, but if India end up losing this Test, it should lead Pujara to do a bit of soul searching on how can he not develop a game around his backfoot even after playing so many years at the international level and touring countries at more than one occasions. On the other hand, nothing can be taken away from the Australian bowlers who have been supreme in the series, and they made sure the duo did not get anything loose to get off the ground and in order to chip away at the lead. Cummins provided Australia with a much-needed breakthrough in the very next over after Rahane hit the six and what Rahane and Indian fans would’ve feared as Australians were in the game big time. Hanuma Vihari was asphyxiated by the combination of Lyon and Hazlewood, and while Pujara enjoyed some boundaries against the off-spinner, the misery was not over for Vihari. Ultimately, the pressure turned out to be too much to handle and Vihari looked in a desperate search for runs and got run out by a piece of brilliance by Hazlewood. Since the dismissal of Gill in the 33rd over when the score was 85, to the fall of Vihari in the 68th over, India could manage to score only 57 runs in a span of 35 overs with a run rate lower than two runs per over and the wicket of Rahane and Vihari along with only exacerbated India’s problems in the middle. The lower-order batsmen in Pant and Jadeja could not rise to the occasion big time as both of them were struck by the menace of the hosts’ pacers, and at the end of the third day’s play, the India team is showing signs of their wheels coming off. Australia are leading by 200 runs, and unless a magical spell of bowling comes from someone, they are all set to chase a score more than 400 runs on the fourth and the fifth day of the Test, and there India will need Pujara, Rahane, and Vihari to come good with all the same that worked against them on the third day of the Test. Yes, talk about changing your tactics and evolving as a player every day according to the situation of a particular game.