SMAT 2025–26: Comprehensive Guide to Team Movements

The group stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025–26 wrapped up on Monday, with eight teams advancing to the Super League stage. The top two teams from each initial group have progressed to this round, and they will be reorganized into two groups of four. The winners of these Super League groups will compete in the final.

The Super League matches are scheduled from December 12 to 16, with the final taking place on December 18 in Pune.

Relegation from SMAT Elite Groups

Among the teams at the bottom, Services ended up last out of the 32 teams in the Elite Groups and will be relegated to the Plate Group for the 2026–27 season. Services finished the group stage with only four points, managing to win just one of their seven matches.

Himachal Pradesh and Bihar also concluded with four points each but avoided relegation thanks to a better Net Run Rate.

According to the BCCI’s rules for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, “For teams in the Elite Groups, a combined list is created for promotion, relegation, and formation of groups for the subsequent season. The team finishing at the bottom of this list in the 2025–26 season will be relegated to the Plate Group for the 2026–27 season.”

The rules also specify that “team rankings for One-Day and T20 tournaments are determined by points, followed by wins, and then Net Run Rate.”

Promotion from SMAT Plate Group

The team winning the Plate Group gains promotion to the Elite Groups for the next season. This year, Mizoram claimed that position by defeating Sikkim by 10 runs in the final.

Published on December 8, 2025