The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026 will run from November 14 to December 6, the BCCI confirmed on Wednesday after releasing India’s domestic cricket schedule for the 2026-27 season.
Named after former India Test cricketer Syed Mushtaq Ali, the SMAT was launched in 2007 and is India’s premier inter-state domestic men’s T20 cricket tournament. The 2026 season will mark the 19th edition of the competition.
Last season, Jharkhand emerged as champions after beating Haryana in the final. Tamil Nadu remain the most successful team in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history with three titles.
The upcoming edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will continue with the Super League format introduced last season in place of the traditional knockout structure.
Under the format, the top two teams from each of the four Elite groups will qualify for the Super League stage, which will see the advancing teams further divided into two groups of four teams each.
Teams will play the other three teams once in the Super League phase, with the two group toppers advancing to the final.
In addition to the 32-team Elite Group, a six-team Plate group introduced last season will also be contested this year and run from November 14 to 24.
The winner of the Plate group will be promoted to the Elite division for next season while the bottom team from the Elite division will be relegated. Last season, Mizoram had secured promotion to the Elite division.
Meanwhile, the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy 2026 – the premier women’s domestic short format cricket tournament in India – has been scheduled from October 26 to November 20.
It will also continue with the Super League format and retain the Plate group introduced last year. The Plate division starts on October 26 but ends on November 4.
Meanwhile, the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal T20 Trophy 2026 will be held from November 24 to December 4.
India’s 2026-27 domestic season will begin with the Duleep Trophy on August 23, 2026 and conclude with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy on March 28, 2027.
The Ranji Trophy, India’s premier first-class cricket tournament, will start from October 11, 2026.
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