Uttarakhand captain Kunal Chandela is the new shining name in Indian domestic cricket, as the franchises will surely think about the player ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. 

Kunal Chandela starts SMAT 2025-26 with 88 and 94 runs

In the first two matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26, Uttarakhand skipper Kunal Chandela scored 88 and 94 runs. In their tournament opener, while they suffered a five-wicket defeat on a last-ball thriller against Karnataka, the right-handed batter Kunal scored 88 off 49 balls with seven fours and five sixes. He came to bat while Uttarakhand were struggling at 32/3 and led the team to the challenging total of 197/5. 

In their second game of the tournament against Saurashtra, while the opponents scored 183/7 in 20 overs, Uttarakhand were once again struggling at 10/2 when the skipper Kunal Chandela and Aanjaneya Suryavanshi strongly guided them to victory. While Aanjaneya scored 73 not out off 41 balls with seven fours and four sixes, captain Kunal scored 94 off 54 balls with nine fours and six sixes, as they won by six wickets after successfully chasing the target in 18.1 overs. 

See Also: CSK star records impressive century during Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025/26

Who is Kunal Chandela?

The 31-year-old Kunal Chandela made his debut in Indian professional domestic cricket for Delhi. He has been serving for Uttarakhand since 2021. He has scored 722 runs in 28 T20 matches with an average of 30.08 and a strike rate of 135.96, including four half-centuries. 

Before the ongoing SMAT season, Kunal caught the limelight in the Uttarakhand Premier League T20 2025, where he finished as the leading run-scorer with 455 runs in seven matches with an average of 75.83 and a strike rate of 177.04, as he won the Player of the Tournament award. In that tournament, he played some incredible knocks of 126, 83, 87, and 101 not out in four straight innings.  

In their last game of this Ranji Trophy season, Kunal scored 116 runs against Gujarat. While he is in dream form with the bat, we won’t be shocked if he become a surprise pick in the upcoming auction for the IPL 2026.