The 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was the twelfth season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a Twenty20 cricket tournament played in India. It was contested by 38 teams, divided into six groups, with six teams in Group A.[1]Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Punjab, Railways, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh were placed in Group A, with all the matches taking place in Bengaluru.[2] Punjab won Group A to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.[3] Karnataka also qualified for the quarter-finals, finishing as one of the best two second placed teams across groups A to E.[4]