Dinesh Karthik to lead TN in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Shankar named VC

India's middle-order batsman Dinesh Karthik will be leading his domestic side Tamil Nadu in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy alongside Vijay Shankar who was named as the vice-captain. Both Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar have been out-of-favor and injured respectively and are attempting to find a way back into the national side. The star-studded Tamil Nadu line-up features the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar, Baba Aparijith, Murali Vijay and Murugan Ashwin. 

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Vijay Shankar named vice-skipper for Tamil Nadu

Vijay Shankar, who was last seen in the international arena during the World Cup, was named as the vice-captain of the Tamil Nadu side. Shankar has assisted Dinesh Karthik on many occasions prior to this tournament, especially in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Ashwin will leave the team mid-way to play in the Tests against Bangladesh while spinner Washington Sundar will join the side after the Bangladesh T20s. But the onus is on Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar as they will be looking to make a mark and get their way back into the national side. Tamil Nadu kick-off their campaign against Robin Uthappa's Kerala. 

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Dinesh Karthik aims to don the finisher's role

Dinesh Karthik, 34, told a leading sports broadcaster ahead of the Vijay Hazare knockouts that the T20 World Cup is a year away but he feels if he can keep performing and have a good domestic tournament, he is sure he will go out there and play. He feels that the Indian team is looking out for a finisher as well to close out matches and who can understand those situations and do the best at that point of time. Dinesh Karthik said that he feels he had done that in the short time he had played T20Is for India. But, post the World Cup, he could not play because they clubbed his poor run at the World Cup with the T20 part of it and removed him from the team as well. But he feels that he is well-suited to play that role that Dhoni has played for so many years and he can do something like that as he has been doing that for KKR and Tamil Nadu. So, if a slot opens up there, that's something Dinesh Karthik will be really looking forward to. The T20 World Cup is definitely something he wants to play.

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