The 19th edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will commence on Saturday, November 14
The final of the tournament will be played on December 6
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will lead Bihar, while Suryakumar Yadav will captain Mumbai
The 19th edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) will commence on Saturday, November 14, with first-round matches held at various venues across India. The final of the tournament will be played on December 6.
Defending champions Jharkhand will start their campaign against Mizoram. Mizoram won the plate group last season. Meanwhile, the runners-up from last season, Haryana, will play their first match against Punjab.
The spotlight will be on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is leading a young Bihar team in the tournament. Bihar will take on Saurashtra in the first match. Tamil Nadu, the most successful team in the tournament, will face Railways.
Elsewhere, T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav will be captaining Mumbai in the tournament. World Cup-winning opener Sanju Samson will be leading Kerala. Another member of India's World Cup-winning squad, Varun Chakravarthy, will represent Bengal in the tournament.
The competition comes at a time when the IPL auction is just around the corner, giving domestic players a chance to leave a last-minute impact on franchises.
SMAT 2026 Round 1: Full Schedule, Groups, Venues And Timings
Groups & Format
A total of 38 teams will participate in the tournament, with 32 playing in the Elite group and the other six in the Plate group.
The Elite section is further divided into four groups, each consisting of eight teams.
Each team will face each other team in its group once in a round-robin format, followed by a Super League format.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Plate group |
| Baroda | Bihar | Andhra Pradesh | Chattisgarh | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Bengal | Delhi | Assam | Goa | Manipur |
| Chandigarh | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Gujarat | Meghalaya |
| Jharkhand | Jammu and Kashmir | Kerala | Hyderabad | Nagaland |
| Karnataka | Punjab | Madhya Pradesh | Mumbai | Services |
| Mizoram | Railways | Maharashtra | Odisha | Sikkim |
| Rajasthan | Tamil Nadu | Pondicherry | Uttarakhand | |
| Uttar Pradesh | Saurashtra | Tripura | Vidarbha |
SMAT 2026 Round 1: Schedule, Venue and Timings
| Match | Venue | Timing |
| Chandigarh vs Baroda | Mumbai | 9:00 AM |
| Punjab vs Haryana | Indore | 9:00 AM |
| Maharashtra vs Pondicherry | Mohali | 9:00 AM |
| Hyderabad vs Mumbai | Kolkata | 9:00 AM |
| Nagaland vs Meghalaya | Sovima | 8:30 AM |
| Arunachal Pradesh vs Manipur | Sovima | 8:30 AM |
| Mizoram vs Jharkhand | Mumbai (Wankhede stadium) | 11:00 AM |
| Saurashtra vs Bihar | Indore | 11:00 AM |
| Tripura vs Andhra | New Chandigarh | 11:00 AM |
| Gujarat vs Odisha | Kolkata (Eden Gardens) | 11:00 AM |
| Services vs Sikkim | Sovima | 1:00 PM |
| Rajasthan vs Uttar Pradesh | Mumbai | 1:30 PM |
| Railways vs Tamil Nadu | Indore | 1:30 PM |
| Himachal Pradesh vs Assam | Mohali | 1:30 PM |
| Vidarbha vs Goa | Kolkata | 1:30 PM |
| Karnataka vs Bengal | Mumbai (Wankhede stadium) | 4:30 PM |
| Jammu and Kashmir vs Delhi | Indore | 4:30 PM |
| Madhya Pradesh vs Kerala | New Chandigarh | 4:30 PM |
| Uttarakhand vs Chattisgarh | Kolkata (Eden Gardens) | 4:30 PM |
Which TV channel will telecast the India vs New Zealand 4th ODI?
A select few matches of the SMAT 2026 Round 1 will be telecast live on Star Sports Network channels in India.
How can fans watch the India vs New Zealand 4th ODI online in India?
Fans can watch the live streaming of the SMAT 2026 Round 1 on the JioHotstar app and website in India.
