The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a domestic Twenty20 cricket championship in India, organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), among the teams from the Ranji Trophy. It is named after former Test cricketer Syed Mushtaq Ali. In 2006–07, the inaugural competition was won by Tamil Nadu under the captaincy of Dinesh Karthik. The 2023–24 tournament was won by Punjab, who defeated Baroda in the final. Tamil Nadu have been the most successful team, winning the trophy three times.

History

The tournament is played under Twenty20 (T20) rules. Originally known as the Inter-State T20 Championship, it was inaugurated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the 2006–07 season. Except in 2016–17, the tournament has been contested by teams involved in the Ranji Trophy, 27 at first and currently (2023) 38. The format has generally been to begin with a round-robin stage with the teams divided into zonal groups, the top teams in each group qualifying for a knockout stage culminating in the final tie. In 2012–13, the BCCI decided to replace the knockout with a Super League consisting of two groups, the winners of which qualified for the final. In June 2016, the BCCI relaunched the competition using zonal teams, as in the Duleep Trophy, but they reverted to the Ranji teams in 2017. Since then, the competing teams have increased to 38 and the knockout stage restored.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy er en indisk indenlandsk Twenty20-cricketturnering, der blev etableret i 2008-09-sæsonen. Turneringen er navngivet efter Syed Mushtaq Ali, den tidligere indiske cricketspiller. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy er en af ​​de mest prestigefyldte indenlandske Twenty20-turneringer i Indien.

Turneringen spilles årligt af 38 hold, der repræsenterer de 28 delstater og 8 unionsterritorier i Indien. Holdene er opdelt i fem zoner: Nordzone, Centralzone, Østzone, Sydzone og Vestzone. Hver zone afholder en indledende runde, hvor de to bedste hold fra hver zone går videre til superligaen.

Superligaen spilles i to grupper med otte hold i hver gruppe. De to bedste hold fra hver gruppe går videre til semifinalerne, og vinderne af semifinalerne mødes i finalen.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy er en vigtig turnering for unge spillere, der ønsker at bryde ind i det indiske landshold. Flere spillere, der har spillet i Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, har gået videre til at repræsentere Indien på internationalt plan.