Delhi Capitals Star Replaces Abhimanyu Easwaran As Bengal Captain, To Lead In Ranji Trophy

Bengal have made a great start to their Ranji Trophy campaign with two big wins in Elite Group C. They defeated Gujarat by a huge 141-run margin and are currently 3rd in the points table with 12 points in their tally.

Under Abhimanyu Easwaran's guidance, Bengal have looked like a tight-knit unit. But the 30-year-old has been picked in the India A squad, scheduled to play two four-day matches against South Africa A at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence. In his absence, Abishek Porel will lead Bengal in the next Ranji Trophy match against Tripura. Apart from Easwaran, Bengal won't get the service of Akash Deep, who will also accompany Easwaran to the India A camp. Talented southpaw Sudip Chatterjee has been ruled out due to a knee injury.

Mohammed Shami To Lead Bengal Attack Against Tripura

In Akash Deep's absence, Mobhammed Shami will spearhead the pace attack. After the Gujarat victory at Eden Gardens, Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla made it clear that the Indian pacer cannot play all games at a stretch and needs to rest in order to be fit for more important games coming forward.

Shami wasn't picked for the West Indies series, and also wasn't considered for the white-ball series against Australia. He responded on the pitch with a seven-wicket haul against Uttarakhand, followed by a match-winning eight-wicket spell against Gujarat.

Shami had an exchange with Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and the former denied all the fitness claims. His fiery spells in the Ranji Trophy have sent a signal to the selectors and it remains to be seen whether he gets selected for the South Africa series.

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Bengal Squad For Tripura Ranji Trophy Match

Abishek Porel (Captain), Sudip Kr Gharami, Anustup Majumdar, Sumanta Gupta, Saurabh Kr Singh, Shakir Habib Gandhi, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Subham Chatterjee, Aditya Purohit, Shahbaz Ahmed, Vishal Bhati, Rahul Prasad, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Ishan Porel, Md Kaif, Sumit Mohanta, Vikas Singh, Md Shami.

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