Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026-27: Manish Pandey, Rohan Patil, Luvnith Sisodia return as Karnataka announce squad

Batters Rohan Patil, Luvnith Sisodia and Manish Pandey have returned to Karnataka’s squad for the first three matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026/27, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) announced on Friday.

Smaran R. will captain the side after returning from New Zealand, where he’s with the India A red-ball team. Senior players Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Gopal, who led Karnataka to victories in their last two Ranji Trophy matches as stand-in captain, have been left out.

Both struggled in last season’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy -- Mayank scored 135 runs in seven games, while Shreyas made just 25 runs and took five wickets with his leg-spin. Pandey, who was named among the probables, returns to the senior side after two years.

Patil and Sisodia make a return to the team after last playing T20 games for them in 2022. The tournament is a big opportunity for Manvanth Kumar L, who had a satisfactory outing in the first leg of the Ranji Trophy, hitting two centuries and picking a three-for.

A strong show in the shortest format could also put him in contention for an IPL contract after being a part of Delhi Capitals in the 2025 season.

Karnataka’s batting looks strong on paper, with Karun Nair, Abhinav Manohar and Smaran adding further depth. With so much firepower, the side will hope to do better this season.

The bowling, however, is likely to decide how far Karnataka goes in the competition. Pacers Vyshak V, Vidwath Kaverappa and Abhilash Shetty will lead the seam attack. Spinners Shikhar Shetty and Ritesh Bhatkal will share the spin-bowling duties with leg-spinner Pravin Dubey.

In Elite Group A, Karnataka will first take on Bengal on November 14, before facing Uttar Pradesh (November 16), Mizoram (November 18) and Jharkhand (November 20) at the Wankhede Stadium. Their remaining group games are against Chandigarh (November 22), Rajasthan (November 24) and Baroda (November 26) at the Sharad Pawar BKC Academy Ground.

Karnataka squad: Smaran R. (captain), Rohan A. Patil, Luvnith Sisodia (wk), Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Abhinav Manohar, Shikhar Shetty, Manvanth Kumar L, Pravin Dubey, Vyshak V, Vidwath Kaverappa, Abhilash Shetty, Shrijith KL (wk), Aneeshwar Gautam, Ritesh Bhatkal.