Manish Pandey returns as a rebuilt Karnataka open against Bengal at the Wankhede

Karnataka open their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign against Bengal at the Wankhede Stadium with Manish Pandey recalled after two years and Mayank Agarwal left out

A rebuilt Karnataka side begin their Elite Group A campaign against Bengal in Mumbai on Saturday, the first of seven league matches for each team and the first chance for both to put right a group-stage exit last season.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association named a 15-man squad for the first three matches, with Ravichandran Smaran appointed captain on his return from India A duty in New Zealand.

Bengal have gone the other way and picked a 19-man squad under Abhimanyu Easwaran, built around the pace of Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar.

Pandey back after two years

Manish Pandey returns to the senior Karnataka side for the first time in two years, the most familiar name in a batting group that has been reshaped around a younger captain.

Rohan Patil and Luvnith Sisodia come back with him. Neither had played a T20 for the state since 2022, and Sisodia is one of two wicketkeepers named alongside Shrijith KL.

Karun Nair and Abhinav Manohar give the middle order its experience, with Pravin Dubey the frontline spinner and Vidwath Kaverappa and Vyshak Vijaykumar sharing the new ball.

Smaran was named captain on the back of his selection in the India A red-ball squad that toured New Zealand, and the 15 named covers only Karnataka's first three group matches.

Agarwal and Gopal make way

Mayank Agarwal, a former Karnataka captain, and leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal have both been left out after modest returns in the last edition.

Agarwal made 135 runs in seven games in that campaign. Gopal scored 25 runs and took five wickets.

Both men had stood in as Karnataka captain during the state's last two Ranji Trophy matches.

Shami anchors the Bengal attack

Mohammed Shami, out of the India side, is the senior name in a Bengal attack that also carries Mukesh Kumar, who joins the squad after India A's tour of New Zealand.

Shahbaz Ahmed is available for the opener only. The spin-bowling all-rounder leaves afterwards for Doha and the Rising Stars Asia Cup with India A.

Shashank Singh, Bengal's Under-23 captain, is in line for a senior debut, and the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru leg-spinner Prayas Ray Barman is back in the reckoning.

Abishek Porel and Shakir Gandhi are the two wicketkeepers, with Sudip Gharami and Yuvraj Keswani among the batters around Easwaran.

Both sides have ground to make up

Neither team reached the Super League last season. Karnataka won two of their seven group matches and finished fifth in their group; Bengal won four of seven and finished sixth in theirs.

Karnataka have won the competition twice, in 2018-19 and 2021-22. Bengal's only title came in 2010-11.

Jharkhand start the tournament as defending champions, having beaten Haryana in last season's final.

A Mumbai base for Group A

Every Group A league match is being played in Mumbai, with Karnataka and Bengal joined by Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Baroda, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Karnataka meet Uttar Pradesh next, on 16 November, the same day Bengal face Chandigarh.

Both squads play every other day from Saturday, their seven group fixtures spread across 13 days.

The league stage runs to 26 November, the Super League follows from 30 November to 4 December, and the final is on 6 December.

Thirty-eight teams are competing across the Elite and Plate divisions, the Elite sides split into four groups of eight.

Karnataka and Bengal start at 4.30pm IST at the Wankhede Stadium, the first of seven Elite Group A league games for each side.