Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Anustup Majumdar to steer Bengal, Shami’s youthful brother will get call-up

Veteran batsman Anustup Majumdar was named Bengal captain for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 event, changing Abhimanyu Easwaran. Shreevats Goswami shall be Majumdar’s deputy within the squad that additionally has Mohammed Shami’s youthful brother, seam bowling all-rounder Mohammed Kaif.Majumdar was rewarded with the captaincy for his stupendous present within the final season the place he actually single-handedly carried Bengal to the ultimate. The Cricket Association of Bengal nonetheless mentioned the 36-year-old Majumdar was appointed “only” for the home T20 event to free Easwaran of the “captaincy burden”.The reality is {that a} defensive batsman like Easwaran is now not a certainty within the shortest format due to his incapability to drive the tempo of his innings.He has additionally slipped significantly within the pecking order of nationwide reckoning after a dismal final season the place he didn’t get a single half-century. Easwaran in his debut season as Bengal skipper in 2019-20 led them to their Ranji closing however the opener had a pathetic run with the bat, averaging 17.20 from 10 matches with only one half-century. On the opposite hand, Majumdar averaged a staggering 58.66, amassing 704 runs from eight matches, second behind Manoj Tiwary (707 from 11 matches) and had been instrumental for his or her runners-up end final season.“CAB president Avishek Dalmiya and Hony Secretary Snehasish Ganguly today spoke to Anustup Majumdar, Shreevats Goswami and Abhimanyu Easwaran and made them aware that the decision taken is only for the length of the tournament in question,” the CAB mentioned in an announcement on Thursday.“The selectors felt that without the burden of captaincy over his head Abhimanyu would be able to play more freely and deliver up to his potential,” added the CAB.Recently, former India batsman VVS Laxman, who’s Bengal’s batting guide, backed Abhimanyu to return good within the Ranji Trophy overcoming his poor type within the final season.“I don’t think captaincy will affect Abhimanyu Easwaran’s performances at all. I believe additional responsibility is much better,” Laxman had mentioned.Bengal have been clubbed with Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam and Hyderabad in Group B and can have the benefit of taking part in at dwelling within the January 10-31 event. They start their marketing campaign towards Odisha on January 10 right here.Bengal Squad: Anustup Majumdar (captain), Shreevats Goswami (vice-captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Manoj Tiwary, Sudi Chatterjee, Ishan Porel, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, Vivek Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arnab Nandi, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Abhishek Das, Mohammed Kaif, Aritra Chatterjee, Suvankar Bal, Writtick Chatterjee, Prayas Ray Barman, Kaif Ahmed, Ravi Kant Singh.