Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20: Best XI of the tournament

Manish Pandey (C) (Karnataka)

He may have underperformed as far as his international career is concerned but it is fair to say that Manish Pandey is one of the stalwarts when it comes to domestic cricket; an absolute beast who churns out truckloads of runs match-after-match. 

Pandey had another stellar competition with the bat. The right-hander racked up 314 runs in nine games at an average of 78.50 and strike-rate of 164.39 with the help of two half-centuries and a whirlwind hundred. Pandey possibly played the most crucial innings of his campaign in the finals against Tamil Nadu where his counter-attacking 60* (45 balls) paved way for Karnataka to score an eventual match-winning total of 180.

But, it was not only his batting that stood out but also his captaincy and his cool-and-calm demeanour. The Karnataka captain led from the front, not only with the bat but also in the field when he affected a crucial run-out of Vijay Shankar in the final over. No wonder he leads this side as well.