Tamil Nadu have handed the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) reins to Varun Chakaravarthy, meaning the first time the mystery spinner will captain a side in competitive cricket. The 2025-26 season begins on November 26 and TNCA has named a 16 member squad, with N Jagadeesan as vice captain.
Great news for Varun Chakaravarthy
With Chakaravarthy being one of the major names in India’s T20I team, he has been entrusted to captain Tamil Nadu, who have won the tournament the most times. He is a regular starter and has an IPL pedigree with him too. However, it is surprising not to see Sai Sudharsan’s name on the list.
It would be a superb learning curve for Chakaravarthy, whose making himself ready for the T20 World Cup 2026 in February. Before that, India plays ten T20 internationals and it is commendable for the mystery spinner to find time and lead his state side in a high octane tournament like SMAT.
What he does have is a core group that knows leadership up close. N Jagadeesan, his deputy, has done the job before. So have Shahrukh Khan and R Sai Kishore. TN are the most successful team in the tournament’s history, winners in 2008, then again in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
It is quite bewildering to understand why is there no Sai Sudharsan in the team. India’s Test No.3 was literally the highest run-getter in the IPL 2025 season for the Gujarat Titans (GT) and is one of the brightest young talents. However, he is missing from the squad despite India not having any Tests for a considerable amount of time now. Chakaravarthy, meanwhile, will miss the business end of the tournament due to the fact that India’s T20I series starts from December 6 onwards. Whereas, the SMAT runs from November 26 to December 18.
Tamil Nadu Squad for SMAT 2025
Varun Chakravarthy (capt), Narayan Jagadeesan (vice-capt, wk), Tushar Raheja (wk), VP Amit Sathvik, M Shahrukh Khan, Andre Siddarth, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Shivam Singh, R Sai Kishore, M Siddharth, T Natarajan, Gurjapneet Singh, A Esakkimuthu, R Sonu Yadav, R Silambarasan, S Rithik Easwaran (wk)
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