Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association has named Rajat Patidar as its captain for the upcoming 2026-27 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). It will be a T20 format tournament, where the batters are expected to take key roles throughout the competition. The state cricket governing body has named multiple well-known batters in their squad.

Naming Rajat Patidar as the leader of the team came as a predicted move after all he had achieved in the last couple of years as a skipper and a batter. After leading the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to their titles in 2025 and 2026, he will have to lead his state team deep into the 2026-27 SMAT T20 tournament.

Rajat Patidar is set to captain Madhya Pradesh in the 2026-27 SMAT

Rajat Patidar has been named as Madhya Pradesh captain, but he is likely to miss several matches as he will have to link up with the India A cricket team for the Men’s Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha. The tournament will be from November 19 to 29, while the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy starts on November 14.

Alongside getting the captaincy role in the Madhya Pradesh state cricket team, he also got a leadership role in the India A team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named Rajat Patidar as the deputy to India A captain Tilak Varma.

Players who will have to take responsibility for Madhya Pradesh

Talking about the Madhya Pradesh squad, in the absence of the skipper, Patidar, the rest of the batters will have to take responsibility. The team lacks no talent in their batting firepower, as there are batters like Akshat Raghuwanshi, Harsh Gawli and Aniket Verma who will have to step up for Madhya Pradesh.

The bowling line-up will be spearheaded by the experienced Indian bowler Avesh Khan. Khan will lead the bowling attack, combined with Mangesh Yadav, left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh, off-spinner Saransh Jain and left-arm wrist-spinner Shivang Kumar.

For the wicketkeeping job, the cricket association has selected Harsh Gawli and Apoorv Dwivedi.

Multiple key players miss out on the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad

Among the notable names, fast bowler Kuldeep Sen has not been picked in the squad due to an injury. It is yet to be disclosed about the nature of the injury Sen is currently dealing with. Pace bowling all-rounder Madhav Tiwari also found no space in the squad.

Tiwari got attention from cricket fans because of his stint in the Indian Premier League for the Delhi Capitals in 2026 and his play for the Ujjain Falcons in the Madhya Pradesh League T20 Scindia Cup 2026.

Madhya Pradesh will start their campaign against Kerala in a day-night game at New Chandigarh on November 14.

Madhya Pradesh Squad for 2026-27 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Ankush Singh, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Harsh Gawli (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Aniket Verma, Ritik Tada, Apoorv Dwivedi (WK), Saransh Jain, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Shivam Shukla, Shivang Kumar, Avesh Khan, Tripuresh Singh, Rahul Batham, Mangesh Yadav.