Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023 is happening right now. As we all know, when it comes to domestic T20 competitions, it is behind the IPL. Interestingly, it has been 15 years since the IPL started and we have some players who participated in the first edition and are still a part of SMAT 2023. On that note, here, we take a look at the list of seven cricketers who played in IPL 2008 and are playing in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023.
1) Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane gained massive momentum in his career with his show in IPL 2023. That said, even before the tournament, he had been doing well in domestic cricket. The cricketer is currently captaining Mumbai and will want to win the tournament. If he does well with the bat, he can expect a place in the starting XI for CSK in IPL 2024.
2) Wriddhiman Saha
Saha is one of one of the cricketers who played in IPL 2008 and is playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023. Currently, the veteran Indian keeper is participating for Tripura in the tournament. In the IPL, he is a player for the Gujarat Titans and almost won the second title with them.
3) Dhawal Kulkarni
Dhawal Kulkarni was recently seen as a commentator. He is now one of the lead pacers for Mumbai, which is one of the favourites to win the title. In the first edition of IPL, he had a decent run with Mumbai Indians and also represented them later. It would be hard for him to win an IPL contract even if he does well in SMAT because he can be inconsistent at times.
4) Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is one of the Indian veterans playing in this edition. He is a part of the young Delhi Team that is looking to wain a major tournament after a long time. For Ishant, he must do well so that he can stay with Delhi Capitals even for IPL 2024.
5) Saurabh Tiwary
Saurabh Tiwary is a part of this list of cricketers who played in IPL 2008 and are playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023. After winning the U19 World Cup in Malaysia, Tiwary played for Mumbai Indians in 2008 but he actually turned up as a solid batter in the next edition. He is still a part of the Jharkhand setup although he had to go through many spells of bad form in his career.
6) Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey is one of the most consistent batters when it comes to domestic cricket. He has won plenty of games for Karnataka as a batter and a skipper. Now, he may not be the skipper but he will want to re-iterate his potential with a strong display in SMAT 2023.
7) Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra is also one of the cricketers who played in IPL 2008 and is playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023. Surprising many, Amit earned a contract in IPL last season. In the limited opportunities that he got, he actually did well. Now, he represents Haryana and if he can win a few games for his side, he could retain his IPL contract.
