CSK Players in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2026-27: Groups, Who Will Be Available and Last Season's Numbers

Hello Yellow Army!

Last week the first phase of the domestic red-ball season, the Ranji Trophy, came to an end, with lots of exciting and outstanding performances from our CSK boys showing off their long-format skills. If you missed any of it, here is our Ranji Trophy Round 4 wrap up, and our earlier Ranji Trophy preview.

But as we enter the last week of the trade and retention window for IPL 2027, every team is busy. And this weekend the most exciting domestic format is also going to start: T20. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2026-27 starts on 14 November and runs until 6 December, with 38 teams in total.

Obviously, the performance of our CSK boys in this tournament will matter a lot ahead of IPL 2027, and what CSK will look like as a team will depend on their form. So let's go through each player: where they will play, which state they are representing, and how their performance was last year.

How SMAT 2026-27 (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) works this season

The 32 Elite teams are split into four groups of eight, and every team plays seven league matches, one against each team in its group, between 14 and 26 November. There are no quarter-finals in this one. The top two from each group go to the Super League, which has two groups of four teams, and each team plays three matches there. The Super League groups are:

• Super League Group A: A1, B1, C2 and D2
• Super League Group B: A2, B2, C1 and D1

The toppers of the two Super League groups then play in the final. The Plate teams have their own competition, with a final between the top two.

Here is the timeline of the SMAT 2026-27 at a glance:

• Starts: 14 November 2026
• League matches: 14 to 26 November
• Super League: 30 November to 4 December
• Final: 6 December

The Plate Group has its own schedule. It has Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Services and Sikkim, with league matches in Nagaland from 14 to 22 November and the final on 24 November. Unfortunately, no CSK player is representing any of these Plate Group teams, so I won't be covering it.

SMAT 2026-27 Groups: Where Our CSK Players Are Playing

• Elite Group A: Bengal, Baroda, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh
• Elite Group B: Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Railways, Saurashtra, Tamil Nadu
• Elite Group C: Andhra, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Tripura
• Elite Group D: Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Vidarbha

That puts our players in these groups:

• Group A: Kartik Sharma and Rahul Chahar (Rajasthan), Prashant Veer (Uttar Pradesh) and Kuldip Yadav (Mizoram). Mizoram won the Plate Group last season, beating Sikkim in the final, which is why they are in the Elite group this time. Shreyas Gopal and Macneil Noronha are not on this list, because both have been left out of Karnataka's squad.
• Group B: Anshul Kamboj (Haryana) and Gurjapneet Singh (Tamil Nadu)
• Group C: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Choudhary and Ramakrishna Ghosh (Maharashtra), Sanju Samson (Kerala) and Aman Hakim Khan (Puducherry)
• Group D: Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube (Mumbai), Urvil Patel (Gujarat) and Akash Madhwal (Uttarakhand), whose squad is not announced yet. Ayush Mhatre would have been in this group too, but he is out of Mumbai's squad with his hamstring injury.

Here is the same thing in an easier to read table:

Squads are not announced yet for a few of our players (Urvil Patel's Gujarat, Aman's Puducherry, Madhwal's Uttarakhand and Kamboj's Haryana), so I will update this article as soon as they are named.

There are some good CSK vs CSK clashes lined up:

• 14 November: Rajasthan (Kartik and Chahar) vs Uttar Pradesh (Prashant Veer)
• 16 November: Mumbai (Sarfaraz and Dube) vs Gujarat (Urvil)
• 18 November: Haryana (Kamboj) vs Tamil Nadu (Gurjapneet), which should be a fun one for the pacers
• 22 November: Rajasthan (Kartik and Chahar) vs Mizoram (Kuldip)
• 22 November: Kerala (Samson) vs Puducherry (Aman)

SMAT 2026-27 Fixtures: CSK Players' Opening Matches

SMAT 2026-27: Which CSK Players Might Miss Games?

• Ruturaj Gaikwad is in both India ODI squads in New Zealand, and the five ODIs run until 15 November. That means he will most probably miss Maharashtra's first match against Puducherry on 14 November, and possibly the one against Kerala on 16 November too, depending on when he flies back.
• Anshul Kamboj is in India's squad for the first three ODIs (4, 7 and 10 November) and also in the Test squad, with the Tests on 19 and 27 November in Wellington and Christchurch. So he will most probably stay in New Zealand with the Test squad and miss most of Haryana's league matches, even if he is named in their squad for SMAT, as Haryana have not announced it officially yet.
• Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube finished with the T20Is on 1 November and are not in the ODI or Test squads, so both are free from the start.
• Mukesh Choudhary and Gurjapneet Singh are not in any of India's squads for the New Zealand tour, and the last India A match there ended on 10 November, so both should be available for the whole league phase.

Last season's SMAT numbers, player by player

We have already seen our players perform in the recent IPL and the Ranji Trophy, and that tells us a lot about their current form. But let's also explore how they did in last year's SMAT to get an idea of what to expect, and we can compare their performances in this tournament as it goes on.

Mumbai

Let's start with Mumbai, who came into last year's tournament as the defending champions under Shardul Thakur's captaincy. They had won the 2024-25 SMAT, their 2nd Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. This year the captaincy has been taken over by T20 World Cup winning captain Suryakumar Yadav, who unfortunately got dropped from the Indian team after the World Cup.

Sarfaraz and Dube are both in Mumbai's squad, along with Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Shreyas Iyer is away on India duty, and Mhatre is out injured.

Ayush Mhatre shone in this tournament last year, with back-to-back centuries for Mumbai, and he was the Player of the Match in both, continuing his IPL 2025 form from CSK. He finished with 325 runs in 6 matches at an average of 108.33 and a strike rate of 166.66, including 2 hundreds and a fifty, with a best of 110 off 53 balls*. In Round 2 against Vidarbha he reached that century in just 49 balls, as Mumbai chased 193 with 13 balls to spare. At 18 years and 135 days, it made him the youngest player to score a century in first-class, List A and T20 cricket, breaking Rohit Sharma's record. In the middle of the season he had to leave for the Under-19 Asia Cup, and he missed Mumbai's remaining matches.

Sarfaraz Khan also had an outstanding season. He came in right from the 4th league match and struck a 47-ball hundred, an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls against Assam, which was his maiden T20 hundred, and he was the Player of the Match. In the next match he made 52 against Kerala, and then another half century against Haryana in the Super League, 64 off 25 balls. He then made 73 off 22 balls against Rajasthan, again as the Player of the Match, chasing 217 as Mumbai got there with 11 balls to spare. He finished with 329 runs in 7 matches at an average of 65.80 and a strike rate of 203.08, with 1 hundred, 3 fifties, 37 fours and 19 sixes.

Shivam Dube played the initial few matches of the season and contributed all-round with the bat and the ball, along with a finishing role for Mumbai. He started with 1/11 in 3 overs against Railways, and then took 3/31 in 4 overs and remained unbeaten on 39 off 19 balls against Vidarbha, with 3 fours and 3 sixes, adding an unbroken 85 with Mhatre in that chase. He took 1/18 in 2 overs against Kerala, where he also made 11 off 7 balls, and bowled 2 overs against Andhra for 21 runs. In those 4 matches he picked up 5 wickets and scored 55 runs at a strike rate of around 196.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra have named an 18-member squad, and it has three of our boys: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ramakrishna Ghosh and Mukesh Choudhary.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was named captain of Maharashtra's squad last season, but was then picked for India's ODI series against South Africa, and the MCA made Prithvi Shaw captain instead. He played only the opening match against Jammu & Kashmir, where he made 6 runs and Maharashtra lost, and then left for national duty. He is back in the 18-member squad this time.

Mukesh Choudhary was in Maharashtra's squad last season too, but he did not feature in any match. In the 2024-25 season, though, he was the third highest wicket taker overall, with 15 wickets in 6 matches for Maharashtra.

Ramakrishna Ghosh played the initial 3 matches and had a very decent time with the ball, though there was no impactful or outstanding spell, and with the bat lower down the order he scored only in single digits. Both are named again in this season's 18-member squad.

Gujarat

Urvil Patel opened the season with the knock that took the whole country by surprise: an unbeaten 119 off 37 balls against Services, with 12 fours and 10 sixes, which included a 31-ball hundred, on his T20 captaincy debut, as Gujarat chased 183 and won by 8 wickets.

He actually captained Gujarat last season, but after that first match he had a few bad outings in the middle, and then came another quick knock of 39 off 11 balls against Himachal Pradesh. Those were the only two good innings, and the rest of the season was silent. He finished with 195 runs in 7 matches at an average of 32.50 and a strike rate of 243.75, which was mostly thanks to that opening hundred, so overall it was not a good season.

It was nowhere near his 2024-25 season, which was overall better: 315 runs in 6 matches at an average of 78.75 and a strike rate of 229.92, with 2 hundreds, including the 28-ball hundred, joint fastest by an Indian, and a best of 115*.

This is the same man who made the fastest fifty in CSK history, and after his double ton in the Ranji Trophy, he comes in with a lot of confidence.

Haryana

Anshul Kamboj was one of the stars of last season, finishing as the third highest wicket taker with 21 wickets in 11 matches, at an average of 17.66, an economy of 8.59 and a best of 4/23, as Haryana reached the final. He had two Player of the Match performances, against Baroda and Punjab, and he was also the hero of a Super Over win in which he got Abhishek Sharma out twice. Haryana have not announced their squad yet.

Karnataka

Shreyas Gopal will not be playing this time, as he has been left out of Karnataka's squad. Last season he played 6 matches and took only 5 wickets, which was a decent performance with the ball, including 3 wickets for 21 runs in 3 overs against Tamil Nadu on 2 December, as Karnataka won by 145 runs.

Macneil Noronha got a chance to play the last match for Karnataka last season, but Karnataka have already announced their squad this time, and he is not in it, just like Shreyas Gopal, so he will not be playing.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu are the most successful SMAT team, with 3 titles, but last season under Varun Chakravarthy, and N Jagadeesan for the last few matches, they could not qualify for the Super League. This time the squad is led by Sai Kishore, who is also their Ranji Trophy captain, and Gurjapneet is part of it.

Gurjapneet Singh was named in Tamil Nadu's squad last season as one of the pacers, along with T Natarajan, with Varun Chakravarthy as captain, but it was not a good season for him either. He played 6 matches and took only 5 wickets, with no outstanding performance in a single match, and he went wicketless for 46 runs in his 4 overs against Karnataka.

Kerala

Sanju Samson captained Kerala last season, with Ahammed Imran as his vice-captain, and he will lead the side again this time. He started with a win, making 51 off 41 balls against Odisha in an unbroken opening partnership with Rohan Kunnummal, who made 121* as Kerala chased 177 without losing a wicket.

Then came 43 off 15 balls against Chhattisgarh and 46 off 28 balls in another match, and Kerala won both of those too. His highest score was 73 off 56 balls against Andhra, but it came in a losing cause. Overall, it was a decent season: he scored 233 runs in 6 innings at a strike rate of 137.86, finishing as Kerala's second-highest run-scorer behind Rohan Kunnummal, as Kerala finished 4th in Elite Group A last year and missed out on a spot in the Super League.

Rajasthan

Kartik Sharma started with a good 35 off 17 balls against Tamil Nadu, with 4 sixes, as Rajasthan chased 170 and won by 6 wickets. Then came 16 off 10 balls, a 46 off 31 balls against Karnataka in a match Rajasthan won by 1 run, 18 off 12 balls and 18 off 13 balls. He played only 5 matches and was then ruled out of the Super League stage with a finger injury. In those 5 innings he made 133 runs off 83 balls, a strike rate of about 160. It was a decent season, but not that good.

Rahul Chahar was in Rajasthan's squad, and Rajasthan reached the Super League, but lost all of their Super League matches. It was not a good season for him, as he played 10 matches and could get only 6 wickets overall. His one notable performance came in the first Super League match against Haryana, where he contributed 20 off 12 balls with the bat and 1/17 in 4 overs with the ball.

Uttar Pradesh

Prashant Veer has the numbers to back him up in T20: as I covered in our CSK Squad Update, he was the top run-scorer for Noida Super Kings in the UP T20 League with 245 runs at an average of 40.83 and a strike rate above 160.

He also played all 7 matches in last year's SMAT, and it was a decent all-round season. He started with 1/19 in 2 overs in the first match, and then came his Player of the Match performance against Jammu & Kashmir: 3/20 in 4 overs and an unbeaten 37 off 10 balls to finish the innings, as Uttar Pradesh made 193/6 and won by 109 runs.

After that he had 1/25 in 3 overs, and 2/19 in 4 overs in an economical spell, though in a losing cause. In the final match he played a 40 off 26 balls to help his team recover from 94/6 to 144/6, and then took 1/39 in 4 overs, but the team lost anyway.

With the bat he made 112 runs at an average of 37.33 and a strike rate of 169.69, and with the ball he took 9 wickets at an economy of 6.76, with a best of 3/20. Those are decent numbers for an all-rounder.

Puducherry

Aman Hakim Khan captained the Puducherry side last year, and he started with an outstanding all-round performance against Haryana: 35 off 19 balls and 4/28 in 4 overs, as Puducherry scored 201/9 and won by 5 runs, which made him the Player of the Match. He followed it with another Player of the Match all-round performance against Baroda, with 72 off 40 balls, 1/22 in 2 overs and 2 catches, as Puducherry won by 17 runs.

Then came 3 back-to-back losses for the team, as he could not do much with the bat or the ball. He struck back with 74 off 40 balls against Bengal, along with a wicket in an over, and then 23 off 15 balls against Himachal Pradesh, and Puducherry won both, though they failed to qualify for the Super League.

He finished with 237 runs in 7 matches at an average of 33.85 and a strike rate of 156.95, with 2 fifties, 17 fours and 17 sixes. Those are decent numbers for a lower-middle-order batter, with a few wickets as well.

Mizoram

Kuldip Yadav is named in Mizoram's squad this time, in Elite Group A. Last year he was not named in either Mizoram's or Delhi's squad, the team he used to play for earlier, so he has no SMAT numbers from last season.

Uttarakhand

Akash Madhwal came to CSK as the replacement for the injured Ayush Mhatre during IPL 2026, but is yet to debut for the franchise. He represents Uttarakhand in the SMAT, who are in Elite Group D this season. Uttarakhand have not announced their squad yet, but he played for them last season, when he took only 3 wickets in 6 matches. It was not a good season for him, and not for the team as well.

CSK Players Not Playing in SMAT 2026-27

• Ayush Mhatre is out of Mumbai's squad with his hamstring injury.
• Shreyas Gopal and Macneil Noronha have been left out of Karnataka's squad.
• MS Dhoni has already retired from domestic cricket, so he is not part of this tournament.
• Dewald Brevis, Noor Ahmad, Matt Short, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Spencer Johnson, Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards are overseas players, so they are not part of this tournament.

But they are also playing in their own domestic leagues, like the CSA Pro20 Cup or the Sheffield Shield, in leagues like the Abu Dhabi T10, or representing their national teams. You can follow all of it on our Super Kings Player Tracker, where I keep updating every performance. Livingstone, for example, has already been playing in the Abu Dhabi T10, and you can read about our trade for him.

SMAT 2026-27: CSK Players to Watch

With the IPL 2027 retention date coming closer, the initial two rounds of matches before it are a great chance for a few of them to make their case, based on how they did last year and how they have been going recently:

• Urvil Patel is coming off a double ton in the Ranji Trophy, after a quiet SMAT last year that was saved only by his opening hundred. He has a chance to show he can be consistent in T20 as well, and make his case as the perfect backup top-order option for Mhatre.
• Sanju Samson will lead Kerala again, after a decent 233 runs at a strike rate of 137.86 last year and an outstanding first IPL season for CSK, in which he scored two centuries. After a decent recent outing for India as well, it is time for him to turn those starts into big scores.
• Sarfaraz Khan was outstanding last year with 329 runs at a strike rate above 200, but he could not carry much of it into CSK, with on-and-off selection this IPL. Repeating that performance this year can make his case strong for a place in CSK's playing XI.
• Kartik Sharma struck at around 160 in his 5 matches last season before a finger injury, so staying fit for the full tournament is the first target. He showed good promise for CSK's middle order, and continuing that with a good whole season at the SMAT will indicate a lot for CSK, and give us fans good confidence going further.
• Ruturaj Gaikwad had a very average IPL 2026 season, with 337 runs in 14 matches at a doubtful strike rate of 123.44, and he played just one match in last year's SMAT. The few matches he gets here after the ODIs are a chance to show that he can still score at the pace T20 demands.
• Anshul Kamboj was the third highest wicket taker last year with 21 wickets, and he comes in after the India call-up, but the Tests may take him away from most of Haryana's matches.
• Prashant Veer and Aman Hakim Khan were both decent all-rounders last year, and both will want to carry that form from the Ranji Trophy into T20 cricket.
• Rahul Chahar and Gurjapneet Singh both had a poor season last year, with 6 and 5 wickets, so they have the most to prove, especially with Shreyas Gopal out of the Karnataka squad and a place in CSK's spin and pace options up for grabs.

Obviously, I will also bring an article on all the Round 1 performances of our CSK players, and I will be adding match-by-match updates for every CSK player in the competition on the Super Kings Player Tracker, so please keep an eye on it.

Stay healthy stay yellow.