u/iftxzeus

State pride + Indian stars + T20 cricket… so why isn’t SMAT huge yet? It is basically IPL minus overseas players. It has everything needed to be India's biggest domestic t20 tournament.

Every time SMAT comes around, I feel like it has way more potential than the hype it gets.

It is basically a T20 tournament with everything going for it: state pride, real Indian talent, matchups that can actually feel massive, and a direct impact on the IPL selection pipeline. Unlike the IPL, players are representing their states, which gives the games a different emotional weight. Watching a Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, or Hyderabad side feels much more rooted and personal.

And the quality is not the issue. The talent pool is already ridiculous. In a single match you can see established Indian stars, breakout youngsters, domestic specialists, and future IPL names all in one place. Games like Punjab vs Hyderabad or Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu can easily be as exciting as many franchise T20 clashes.

That is why I genuinely do not understand why SMAT still feels so under-marketed. It has the ingredients to become one of India’s most anticipated cricket tournaments of the year: proper broadcast quality, better grounds, more visible promotion, packed stadiums, and a little more hype from BCCI and broadcasters could change everything.

Right now it still feels like a hidden talent-factory instead of a proper premium T20 event. It helps scout players, feeds the IPL, and has all the energy of a top competition, but it is not treated like one.

Honestly, this feels like a missed opportunity. With better production, better venues, and smarter marketing, SMAT could become a must-watch event for fans, not just a selection tournament for scouts.

What do you think is holding it back the most: lack of marketing, poor broadcast quality, bad venues, or just fan interest not being built properly?

State pride + Indian stars + T20 cricket… so why isn’t SMAT huge yet? It is basically IPL minus overseas players. It has everything needed to be India's biggest domestic t20 tournament.

Every time SMAT comes around, I feel like it has way more potential than the hype it gets.

It is basically a T20 tournament with everything going for it: state pride, real Indian talent, matchups that can actually feel massive, and a direct impact on the IPL selection pipeline. Unlike the IPL, players are representing their states, which gives the games a different emotional weight. Watching a Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, or Hyderabad side feels much more rooted and personal.

And the quality is not the issue. The talent pool is already ridiculous. In a single match you can see established Indian stars, breakout youngsters, domestic specialists, and future IPL names all in one place. Games like Punjab vs Hyderabad or Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu can easily be as exciting as many franchise T20 clashes.

That is why I genuinely do not understand why SMAT still feels so under-marketed. It has the ingredients to become one of India’s most anticipated cricket tournaments of the year: proper broadcast quality, better grounds, more visible promotion, packed stadiums, and a little more hype from BCCI and broadcasters could change everything.

Right now it still feels like a hidden talent-factory instead of a proper premium T20 event. It helps scout players, feeds the IPL, and has all the energy of a top competition, but it is not treated like one.

Honestly, this feels like a missed opportunity. With better production, better venues, and smarter marketing, SMAT could become a must-watch event for fans, not just a selection tournament for scouts.

What do you think is holding it back the most: lack of marketing, poor broadcast quality, bad venues, or just fan interest not being built properly?

Man, I’ve been thinking about this and it’s such a weird struggle. We only get 14 guaranteed games, and it's shame that seeing Pat with a bat in his hand is basically a rare sighting. The problem is, in a 20 over game, if Cummins is walking out to the middle, it usually means our top order has absolutely collapsed. Obviously, I don’t want us to fail, but man... I just want to see him play.

He smashed a 14 ball fifty a few years back, and saved our asses few times with the bat too when all our batters shat the bed on tricky pitches, last years game against mi comes to my mind.

His technique is actually solid against both pace and spin if I’m being real, it’s better than some of the uncapped middle-order guys we see around the league. He’s got that height and power where if he just came in around the 16th over with a full license to go mental, it would be such a vibe.

I’m still gutted about that KKR game, Just when it looked all set for him, the stupid luck got the better of him - the wide ball of anukul roy would have bounced before his hands any other day 💔

Look, I’m not an analyst and I’m definitely not saying we should mess with a winning combination just to get him in earlier. I know Pat is incredibly humble and probably downplays his own batting to the management anyway.

It’s one of those things where it feels like it’s just not meant to happen often 💔 but as a fan, I just really enjoy his batting and want to see more of it.

Anyway, just felt like putting that out there. It’s a weirdly frustrating thing to complain about when the team is winning, but man, I wish there was a way to see him go big without us having to lose six wickets first.