SMAT20 2021: Yusuf Pathan not included in Baroda squad for the first time in more than a decade

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will take place from 10th January to 31st January across 7 venues in India. The 38 teams participating in the tournament have been divided into 6 groups. The Karnataka side won the last two editions of the tournament and will look to make it a hat-trick of wins when the 2021 edition gets underway.

The Baroda side has named Mumbai Indians’ all-rounder Krunal Pandya as the skipper for the tournament. Assisting him, will be Deepak Hooda, who has been named as the vice-captain. However, one notable omission from the squad was that of veteran Yusuf Pathan.

The all-rounder has represented Baroda since the year 2007 and is the second-highest run-scorer for the two-time champions in the all-time list. Pathan has aggregated 1244 runs in the tournament at an average of 28.27. He also boasts of a good strike rate of 133.47 in the T20 tournament in a career that has lasted more than a decade.

In the 2019-20 edition of the tournament, Pathan had done a reasonable job with the bat. He scored 136 runs in the tournament and scored them at an average of 34.00. His strike rate, was a tad on the lower side, at 116.23.

For the Baroda outfit, the highest run-scorer in the previous edition was Aditya Waghmode. The left-hander was in his elements throughout the tournament and scored 364 runs at an enviable average of 45.50. He also scored 3 fifties in the 10 innings that he batted at the top of the order.

Now, with the all-rounder being dropped from the squad at the age of 38, the possibility of a comeback for Pathan looks pretty bleak at this point in time. And, with the likes of Swapnil Singh, and Krunal Pandya bolstering the lower order for Baroda, it looks like the curtains have been drawn on Yusuf Pathan’s career.

Baroda won SMAT20 in 2013-14 season

Baroda last won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2013-14 season. In the next 6 editions, the side has managed to reach the final just once. The two-time winners of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be looking to add another title in the 2021 edition under the leadership of Krunal Pandya. The 2021 edition will have a different feel for the Baroda side.

Baroda Full Squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021: Krunal Pandya(Captain), Deepak Hooda(Vice-captain), Bhargav Bhatt, Kedar Devdhar, Pratik Ghodadra, Kartik Kakade, Lukman Meriwala, Mohit Mongia, Dhruv Patel, Babashafi Pathan, Pratyush Kumar, Abhimanyusingh Rajput, Ninad Rathva, Atit Sheth, Vishnu Solanki, Soyeb Sopariya.