Manish Pandey will lead Karnataka in the upcoming T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he missed the last season due to an injury.
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The premier domestic Indian T20 tournament, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will begin from 4th November 2021. The champions of 2018-19 & 2019-20, Karnataka, have announced their 20 men squad for the competition.
Karnataka had a disappointing last season, and they would want to challenge for the title this time, as they have some brilliant players in their ranks.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Manish Pandey to lead Karnataka
Manish Pandey, who missed the last season due to an injury, is back as the leader of the side. Pandey scored 292 runs in the IPL 2021, whereas he also lead the side in the last league game. He was the highest run-scorer of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021.
Pandey has been an inspirational leader for the Karnataka side, and the team has thrived under his captaincy in the past. In the 2019-20 season of SMAT, Pandey scored 314 runs at an average of 78.50 (S/R 164.39).
Mayank Agarwal and Devdutt Padikkal are also named in the squad, they will open the innings together. Agarwal scored 441 runs at an average of 40.09 in IPL 2021, whereas he had a strike-rate of 140.44. Padikkal scored 411 runs in IPL 2021, whereas he scored 218 runs in the last SMAT.
Karun Nair lead the side last season, and he has retained his position in the team. However, Pavan Desphande, last season’s vice-captain has been dropped from the side.
Karnataka will be bolstered by the return of some star players this season, and they will be challenging for the title. They will face Mumbai in their first game on 4th November 2021.
Karnataka 20 men squad
Squad: Manish Pandey (C), Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, KV Siddharth, Rohan Kadam, Anirudha Joshi, Abhinav Manohar, Karun Nair, Sharath BR, Nihal Ullal, Shreyas Gopal, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jagadeesha Suchith, Pravin Dubey, KC Cariappa, Prasidh Krishna, Prateek Jain, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MB Darshan, Vidyadhar Patil.
