The History of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

A T20 competition, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is played between the state teams of India who also participate in the country’s premier domestic competition, The Ranji Trophy. The 2009-10 season was the inaugural one for this tourney which is named after the famous Indian cricketer, Syed Mushtaq Ali.

Syed Mushtaq Ali was an aggressive Test batsman who holds the distinction of scoring the first Test century by any Indian overseas. This knock of 112 remains his career-best in the international game and was scored against England in Manchester in 1936. Vijay Merchant also scored a ton in this match and shared a 203-run opening stand with Mushtaq who reached the landmark before his partner. Mushtaq’s 20 innings for the country produced 612 runs at an average of 32.21 including 2 tons. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1964 and made a life member of the Marylebone Cricket Club for his contribution to the game.

The Indore-born batsman began his Test career as a left-arm spinner batting at No. 7 but opened in the second innings of the 1934 Test against England in Kolkata following an injury to the regular opener Dilawar Hussain. It was not a particularly distinguished debut, although he picked up the wicket of Douglas Jardine. India had played six opening combinations in five Tests before Mushtaq and Merchant came together to open at Old Trafford in 1936. A Wisden Special Award winner, Mushtaq scored four First-class hundreds in that tour. His aggression and powerful strokeplay formed a dynamic and legendary opening partnership for the team for years. Mushtaq’s son, Gulrez Ali, and his grandson, Abbas Ali, both played first-class cricket. His death on June 18, 2005, aged 90 meant the last of the players who represented India before Independence had passed from the scene.

After India became another member of the ICC Twenty20 and played its first international T20 against South Africa, BCCI launched its own state structure in the 2006-07 season, with 27 Ranji teams divided into 5 Zones. This competition was called Inter-State T20 Championship. The final was played between Punjab and Tamil Nadu, which the latter won by 2 wickets and 2 balls remaining, thereby becoming the only ever winner of this series. In this series, Rohit Sharma also became the only ever Indian to register a T20 century for Mumbai against Gujarat. This tourney wasn’t played for the next two seasons.

The competition was replaced by the franchise-based Indian Premier League. In the 2009-10 season, an inaugural tournament between state teams replaced the Inter-State Championship and was played with teams divided into two groups on the zonal basis. This was named as Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Maharashtra won the 2009-10 trophy defeating Hyderabad in a low-scoring final by 19 runs in Indore while Bengal won the final against Madhya Pradesh by one run in Hyderabad in the following season.

Baroda won the trophy in 2011-12 by defeating Punjab by 8 runs in Mumbai largely due to the all-round performance by Irfan Pathan. Irfan came in at No. 7 turned the game from 91 for 5 into a sturdier 149 for 6 and took two for 24 while bowling. Gujarat lifted the trophy in 2012/13 defeating Punjab in the final by four wickets with 13 deliveries to spare in Indore.

Baroda was crowned champions in the 2013/14 season by defeating Uttar Pradesh in the final by 3 runs in Mumbai in a dramatic match. After reaching 116 for 1 in the 17th over, Uttar Pradesh collapsed while chasing a target of 145 and lost the match by three runs. The following season witnessed Gujarat’s triumph against Punjab in a tense run-chase in Bhubaneswar. The current season will witness a final between the 2013/14 champions Baroda and finalists Uttar Pradesh in Mumbai.

In 2014, the BCCI made it mandatory for all players contracted in the IPL to play for their respective teams in the zonal leagues of the tournament but allowed them to skip the super league and join their IPL franchises instead. This affected the quality of matches in the super league and the teams’ strategies.

In 2015, captains and coaches of Ranji Trophy teams had demanded a revamp of the domestic cricket calendar and suggested that the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy be held before the IPL auction. According to player representatives, the previous scheduling of the tournament did not serve its purpose of helping cricketers get noticed by IPL franchises, and did not attract top cricketers, either. For the last three seasons, the tourney had been held at the end of the domestic calendar and often, the tournament’s super league stage has clashed with the IPL.

This season hence brought good news for all parties concerned with the tourney being held before the WorldT20 and the 2016 IPL. Players got a great chance to impress not just the IPL talent scouts but also the national selectors. The teams were divided into four groups with three of these comprising of seven teams each and one with 6 teams. The qualification criteria being similar to the one witnessed in Vijay Hazare Trophy with the top 2 teams to go through to the next round. The Super League was divided into 2 groups of 4 teams each with the group winners directly to contest the final since semi-finals aren’t a part of the format.

It will be interesting to see what future hold for this competition, however, the signs are looking positive as showcased by the current season. Most of the knockout matches have been telecast live and generated a lot of interest among the Indian cricket fans.