2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: 5 players to watch out for

The 2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, that was scheduled to start later in the season, was preponed to January 7 as it would help the IPL franchises take a look at the local players on display ahead of the 2018 auction scheduled for January 27 and 28.

The tournament will be played in a zone-wise format and the teams across all five zones will compete against the teams that are in their zones with the team finishing at the top crowned the winners.

The tournament will feature some big names like Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Shreyas Iyer etc. Aside from these names, there are the likes of Ishan Kishan, Nitish Rana, Mayank Agarwal, Vijay Shankar etc. who will go out and look to prove a point.

Let us take a look at five players to watch out for in the tournament.

Krunal Pandya

Ever since his IPL debut, Krunal Pandya has been making his performances count for Mumbai Indians. Krunal is one of the crucial members of the IPL champions and has contributed towards the team's success with both bat and ball.

In the 25 matches he has played so far, Krunal, who was not retained by his team ahead of 2018 IPL, has scored 480 runs at an average of 37 with a strike-rate of 159. With the ball, he has taken 16 wickets at an average of 32, but has done well to keep the opposition batsmen at bay by conceding just 7.15 runs per over.

With the IPL auction around the corner, Krunal is expected to fetch a huge amount. A good performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali will improve his chances of getting sold for a high price. After missing the first-class season, Krunal will look to make amends with both bat and ball in the T20 tournament.

Washington Sundar

Let us go back to January 2016 when Washington Sundar was not even a part of the Tamil Nadu T20 side. 12 months down the line, the teenager earned himself an IPL contract, did well in the tournament with some fantastic bowling in the first qualifier and the final, took the 2017 TNPL by storm, had a decent first-class season, got his maiden national call-up, made his ODI debut and became the youngest player to play a T20I for India.

He will look to continue his good work in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament as a good performance will help him go for a high price in the upcoming IPL auction.

The world has seen Washington, the economical bowler and now, it is time for them to see Washington, the reliable batsman. He can't get a better platform than this to showcase his batting skills.

Rahul Tripathi

One of the success stories of the 2017 IPL was Maharashtra batsman Rahul Tripathi, who set the stage on fire for Rising Pune Supergiant. He played 14 matches last season and scored 391 runs at an average of 28 and a strike-rate of 147.

His 93 against Kolkata Knight Riders was one of the best innings in the tournament as he showed that he could take on both the spinners and pacers with ease. Just like Krunal Pandya and Washington, Rahul is expected to be in the auction pool and will look to do well in the tournament.

Rishabh Pant

Unlike the other names, Rishabh Pant won't be in the auction pool as he was retained by his team Delhi Daredevils for a whopping INR 15 crore. The left-hander was terrific for the Daredevils last season as he scored as many as 366 runs in 14 matches at an average of 26.14 and a strike-rate of 166.

His innings of 97 against Gujarat Lions was easily the innings of the tournament as he took the Lions bowlers to the cleaners. He got to play his second T20I for India after his heroics in the IPL and somehow managed to score 38 off just 35 balls.

Since then, his form has been on the decline and he was dropped from the Indian team. He was successful as a captain in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy as he took his side to the final. But, he was average as a batsman throughout the season and will look to regain his form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament.

Sarfaraz Khan

Two of the most surprising decisions made by the franchises ahead of the 2018 IPL were Kings XI Punjab's decision to retain Axar Patel and Royal Challengers Bangalore's to retain Sarfaraz Khan. Though one can understand the reasoning behind Axar's retention - he is the only player from the Indian team who was in the Kings XI side last year - the retention of Sarfaraz was a complete surprise considering the fact that he was retained ahead of players like Chris Gayle, KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal.

The right-hander is one of very few Indian batsmen who can play unorthodox shots at will and in the 23 T20 innings he has played so far, he has scored 332 runs at an average of 24 and a strike-rate of 154, numbers that are very good for a batsman who bats in the last five overs on a majority of occasions.

After undergoing a knee surgery that kept him out for nearly nine months, Sarfaraz is making a comeback to action and the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament is his first tournament since his return. He will look to make amends, especially after the criticism RCB have received for retaining him.