There’s good news for the fan following of Suresh Raina as the southpaw will be seen in action at the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. Raina who dropped out of the recently concluded Indian Premier League which was held in the UAE, had eyed a return to cricket again by playing in the 2020-21 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy.
Suresh Raina as Uttar Pradesh Skipper
Reports have it that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is keen on having the next edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy played before the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The domestic T20 league features teams from different state associations. While talking to a local publication, Dainik Jagran, Suresh Raina said that he will lead the Uttar Pradesh team. In the 2015-16 edition, Raina had led Uttar Pradesh to victory.
The Return of Suresh Raina.
The 2020-21 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trohpy will see the return of Suresh Raina back to competitive cricket. Having dropped out of the IPL 2020 after citing personal reasons, Raina will be part of the Uttar Pradesh team. The news of Raina’s returns comes just months after he had announced his retirement from competitive cricket and was out of domestic action as well. Raina, however hasn’t shown any interest in playing at the Ranji Trophy or the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020-21
The 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is scheduled to be the twelfth edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and was scheduled to start from 19 November to 7 December 2020. However, the BCCI has called for a strict protocol to be followed amidst the ongoing pandemic, which could see the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy take priority over other domestic leagues. The league would also serve as the perfect platform for T20 specialists ahead of the IPL 2021 auction scheduled for January 2021.
Confirming the scheduling of the league, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said, “the BCCI would create six “bio-secure hubs” to counter the challenge of travel and logistics during the pandemic. “The 38 teams will be divided into 5 Elite groups and 1 Plate group. The Elite groups will consist of six teams each while the Plate group will have eight teams.” Hosting domestic cricket competitions amidst this ongoing pandemic has been one of the biggest challenges faced by the BCCI.