Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar Named In Tamil Nadu Squad For Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has been named Tamil Nadu captain for the upcoming edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. The domestic T20 competition will kickstart from January 10 and will also mark the resumption of high-profile cricket in the country. India have not seen any high-profile game taking place at home since the COVID-19 outbreak halted action around the world in March.

Out-of-favour India allrounder Vijay Shankar has been named as Dinesh Karthik’s deputy for the tournament, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) announced on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu will miss the services of big names like Ravichandran Ashwin, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar as the trio is in Australia with Team India.

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The state senior selection committee headed by former skipper S Vasudevan picked a 20-member squad keeping in mind the requirements owing to the COVID-19 protocols. Medium-pacer Aswin Crist returns to the state side after a gap of three years due to injuries while Sandeep Warrier, who has shifted base from Kerala, is also a part of the team. The team also includes spinners M Ashwin, R Sai Kishore and M Siddharth.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu will be without opening batsman Murali Vijay too. Earlier this month, the veteran batsman had pulled out of the team due to personal reasons. Medium-pacer K Vignesh is out of the squad too after testing positive for coronavirus and has been replaced by all-rounder R S Jaganath Sinivas.

“It is a very balanced team and has a mix of experience and youth, chairman of Tamil Nadu’s selection panel Vasudevan told PTI.

“The players are well prepared and I expect the team to do well in the Mushtaq Ali tournament. I am confident that they (team) will perform well,” he added.

The team will have a camp beginning on Thursday and will take part in practice matches. The team is expected to leave for Kolkata on January 2. Tamil Nadu is placed in Elite Group B. Having lost the final to Karnataka in the previous edition, they will be looking to go all the way this season.

Tamil Nadu squad:

Dinesh Karthik (captain), Vijay Shankar (vice-captain), B Aparajith, B Indrajith, M Shahrukh Khan, C Hari Nishaanth, K B Arun Karthik, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, N Jagadeesan, Aswin Crist, M Mohammed, G Periyasamy, Sandeep Warrier, J Kousik, R Sonu Yadav, M Ashwin, R Sai Kishore, M Siddharth, L Suryapprakash, R S Jaganath Sinivas.

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