Wisden's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 team of the tournament

Ishan Kishan (Jharkhand)

M: 10 | 517 runs @ 57.44, SR 197.32 | HS: 113* | 100s: 2, 50s: 2 | Ct: 12

The Jharkhand captain led from the front, hitting a 48-ball 101 in the final, his second ton of the season after a 50-ball 113 against Tripura. He especially upped his game in the Super League stage, with scores of 47, 63 and 35, followed by the hundred in the final. Kishan had fallen seven short of a ton against Saurashtra as well. His returns of 517 runs were the third-best in SMAT history.

Ankit Kumar (Haryana)

M: 11 | 448 runs @ 44.80, SR 172.30 | HS: 89 | 50s: 5

The Haryana captain had entered the final at the top of the run-scoring charts, but couldn’t add to his tally as he fell for a duck. But leading up to the decider, he showed incredible form, slamming fifties in all three Super League games.

Kumar Kushagra (Jharkhand)

M: 10 | 422 runs @ 60.28, SR 161.68 | HS: 86* | 50s: 4

Batting at three for Jharkhand, Kushagra showed consistent form, hitting three consecutive fifties at one point in the competition. His 42-ball 86 in the Super League game against Punjab made light work of the 236-run target, which Jharkhand chased down with nine balls to spare. He hit a 38-ball 81 in the final as well, adding 177 runs with Ishan Kishan to set up a commanding win.

Sarfaraz Khan (Mumbai)

M: 7 | 329 runs @ 65.80, SR 203.08 | HS: 100* | 100s: 1, 50s: 3

Sarfaraz’s promotion to the top order worked wonders. After missing the first three games of the tournament, he slammed a 47-ball 100 against Assam in his first game. He followed up with a 52 against Kerala. Sarfaraz levelled up in the Super League, scoring 64 off 25 in a successful 235-run chase against Haryana, before finishing off with a record-breaking 73 vs Rajasthan. He also found an IPL team, with the Chennai Super Kings signing him at the IPL 2026 auction.

Anukul Roy (Jharkhand)

M: 11 | 303 runs @ 60.60, SR 160.31 | HS: 95* | 50s: 1 | 18 wickets @ 15.38, Ec 7.41 | BBI: 3-20

The Player of the Tournament, Anukul Roy, put up a brilliant all-round performance to see Jharkhand through to the title. He cleared his intentions from the first game, where he hit a quickfire 26 off 13 against Delhi, and carried the same intent until the final, where he scored 40 runs in 20 balls before taking two wickets with his left-arm spin.

He was consistent in both departments throughout the competition, with his best coming against Karnataka, where he first bowled a three-over spell for 13 runs and two wickets, and then scored a 58-ball 95 to single-handedly win a close game for his side.

Ravichandran Smaran (Karnataka)

M: 7 | 319 runs @ 63.80, SR 158.70 | HS: 72 | 50s: 2

Smaran carried his form from Ranji Trophy to SMAT, registering scores of 30 or more in all but one of the innings, when he scored an 11-ball 24 against Tripura. On top of his two half-centuries, he also registered scores of 48* and 46* against Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, respectively.

Salil Arora (Punjab)

M: 8 | 358 runs @ 71.60, SR 198.88 | HS: 125* | 100s: 1, 50s: 1

Salil Arora held his own in a star-studded Punjab lineup, slamming a fantastic 45-ball 125 in the Super League game against Jharkhand when everyone else in the lineup failed. He added to it with scores of 42* and 50 in the other two Super League games. His consistent outings didn’t go unnoticed in the IPL as the Sunrisers Hyderabad beat the Mumbai Indians in a bidding war to sign him for INR 1.50 Cr.

Ashok Sharma (Rajasthan)

M: 10 | 22 wickets @ 15.63, Ec 9.25 | BBI: 4-16

Rajasthan’s right-arm fast bowler, Ashok Sharma, impressed in his first-ever professional T20 tournament. Capable of bowling upto 150 kmph, he was the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament, and his best of 4-16 came against Uttarakhand, and he followed it up with a 4-20 against Saurashtra in the next game, where he hit a 7-ball 15 to win a last-over finish for Rajasthan. Gujarat Titans paid INR 90 Lakh to sign him in the IPL 2026 auction.

Sushant Mishra (Jharkhand)

M: 11 | 22 wickets @ 17.18, Ec 8.92 | BBI: 3-21

Sushant Mishra went toe-to-toe with Ashok Sharma for the top wicket-taker award. The left-arm pacer also finished with 22 wickets, three of which came in the final. He picked up three wickets each against Rajasthan and Karnataka as well. Rajasthan Royals bought him during the IPL auction for INR 90 Lakh.

Yash Thakur (Vidarbha)

M: 7 | 18 wickets @ 9.88, Ec 6.80 | BBI: 5-16

Yash Thakur was among the most consistent bowlers in the tournament, picking up three or more wickets in four of the seven games. His best of 5-16 came against Kerala, while he took four wickets against Andhra and three each against Chhattisgarh and Assam as well. He was highly economical as well, conceding more than 30 runs in just two games.

Shivam Shukla (Madhya Pradesh)

M: 10 | 17 wickets @ 14.58, Ec 7.25 | BBI: 4-23

Madhya Pradesh leg-spinner completes our SMAT 2025 XI, having finished as the second-highest wicket-taker among spinners after Anukul Roy. He saved his best for the last, picking up eight wickets in the three Super League games, returning with figures of 4-23, 1-19 and 3-39, against Andhra, Jharkhand and Punjab, respectively.

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