The 31-year-old Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar has officially been appointed as the captain of his team for a marquee tournament.
Rajat Patidar has been handed over the captaincy responsibility by the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association to lead the team in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024.
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Rajat Patidar set to lead a star-studded Madhya Pradesh Team
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a domestic T20 cricket championship and it is named after former Test cricketer Syed Mushtaq Ali.
The inaugural edition of the competition was won by the Dinesh Karthik-led Tamil Nadu in the 2006-07 season, and Team Punjab won the previous edition of the competition (2023) and will be heading into the upcoming tournament as defending champions.
Syed Mushtaq Ali 2024 will begin on Saturday, November 23, and Madhya Pradesh will be taking on Mizoram in their opening clash. Rajat Patidar will have a big responsibility on his shoulders to lead the star-studded line-up to the title, as MP are yet to clinch the SMAT championship.
Other than Rajat Patidar, Team Madhya Pradesh features star players like Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, and Harpreet Singh.
Rajat Patidar will be leading the Madhya Pradesh team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament! 🔥#RajatPatidar #SMAT #SMAT2024 pic.twitter.com/YeRZuyQuJR
— Saabir Zafar (@Saabir_Saabu01) November 19, 2024
Rajat Patidar retained by RCB
Rajat Patidar was among the three players that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25.
Virat Kohli was the top retention of the franchise for INR 21 crore, and Rajat Patidar was the second retention for INR 11 crore. Also, RCB kept Yash Dayal in their squad for INR 5 crore as he was retained in the uncapped category.
Overall, they have spent INR 37 crore and have a remaining purse of INR 83 crore. They will be entering the mega auction with three Right-To-Match cards in their bag.
There are high chances of Royal Challengers Bengaluru using their Right-to-Match (RTM) card for the star pacer Mohammed Siraj as he has been a member of the franchise for a very long time. Other players for whom they can use their RTM are Glenn Maxwell and Will Jacks.
Who are the other captains in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024?
The upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be a mini-IPL as several star cricketers will be seen in action in the marquee T20 tournament.
The IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer will be leading Team Mumbai, while the Chennai Super skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the captain of Team Maharashtra.
The Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson will be leading Kerela while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, Tilak Varma, and Shahrukh Khan will be serving as the skippers of Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Hyderabad, and Tamil Nadu.
Also, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Delhi will be led by Jitesh Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mayank Agarwa,l and Ayush Badoni.
Full list of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy winners:
| Season | Winners | Runners-up |
| 2006/07 | Tamil Nadu | Punjab |
| 2009/10 | Maharashtra | Hyderabad |
| 2010/11 | Bengal | Madhya Pradesh |
| 2011/12 | Baroda | Punjab |
| 2012/13 | Gujarat | Punjab |
| 2013/14 | Baroda | Uttar Pradesh |
| 2014/15 | Gujarat | Punjab |
| 2015/16 | Uttar Pradesh | Baroda |
| 2016/17 | East Zone | Central Zone |
| 2017/18 | Delhi | Rajasthan |
| 2018/19 | Karnataka | Maharashtra |
| 2019/20 | Karnataka | Tamil Nadu |
| 2020/21 | Tamil Nadu | Baroda |
| 2021/22 | Tamil Nadu | Karnataka |
| 2022/23 | Mumbai | Himachal Pradesh |
| 2023/24 | Punjab | Baroda |
