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Jharkhand announces its full squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) T20 tournament. As the defending champions, there will be extra pressure to defend the hard-earned title in the upcoming season. They won the title in the previous season, with Ishan Kishan as their captain.
Ishan Kishan has not been named in the SMAT 2026- 27 squad. In place of Ishan, Jharkhand has named their star all-rounder Anukul Roy as the skipper and Shikhar Mohan as his deputy. Batter Kumar Kushagra also misses the squad.
No Ishan Kishan in Jharkhand's 2026-27 SMAT squad?
The season for the Jharkhand state cricket team is not going to be easy, as they will not get the services of Ishan Kishan. Ishan will not be able to take part in the tournament as he has to fulfill his commitments for the India National Cricket Team. He is currently in New Zealand for the ongoing multi-format series.
This season's SMAT tournament starts on November 14, and the final will be on December 6, 2026. On the other side, the Indian cricket team will have to play two more ODIs against the New Zealand Cricket Team, followed by a 2-match Test series.
Why is Ishan Kishan not in the squad?
After the series in the land of Kiwis, the Men in Blue will have to prepare themselves for a multi-format series against Sri Lanka, starting on December 13. The series in New Zealand will officially come to an end on December 1.
There will be a twelve-day gap between the first match against Sri Lanka and the last match of the series in New Zealand, and the 2026-27 SMAT will run till December 6. Will Jharkhand be able to add Ishan Kishan to their team for the tournament? It will be interesting to see if they can progress in the higher stage of the competition.
Jharkhand has been placed in Group A with Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Karnataka, Baroda, and Chandigarh. They will open their campaign with a match against Mizoram on November 14 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Eyes will be on Anukul Roy, the newly appointed captain
In the absence of Ishan, eyes will be on the newly appointed skipper Anukul Roy as he pursued a stellar performance in the previous season as an all-rounder. Experienced candidates like Virat Singh and Shikhar Mohan, and the other batters, will have to take extra responsibility as they are set to miss both Ishan and Kumar Kushagra.
Ishan and Kushagra both played vital roles behind their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win during the 2025-26 season. This season, emerging batters like Robin Minz will have a bright chance to become one of the dependable batters of the team.
Jharkhand's full squad for 2026-27 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy:
Anukul Roy (C), Virat Singh, Shikhar Mohan (VC), Utkarsh Singh, Robin Minz, Rajandeep Singh, Pankaj Kumar, Md. Kounain Quraishi, Shubh Sharma, Amit Kumar, Pratik Ranjan, Pratyush Kumar, Sushant Mishra, Harsh Raj, Saurabh Shekhar.
