India's veteran wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has agreed to play for Bengal in the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22, three months after the reported end of his Test career led him to refuse to play red-ball cricket for the side.
Well, he will be available for Bengal for the crucial quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 against Jharkhand, as the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on May 16 announced the 22-member Bengal squad for the quarter-finals, starting from June 6 in Bengaluru.
Apart from Saha, Indian fast bowler, Mohammad Shami, has also been included in this 22-member Bengal squad for the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 quarter-finals against Jharkhand. Notably, both Saha and Shami are part of the new franchise Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing IPL 2022, which has made it to the playoffs, and are considered strong contenders to win the tournament.
Saha and Shami have both been in excellent form in the ongoing IPL 2022, and their presence could prove to be extremely beneficial for the Bengal team in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 quarter-finals.
However, availability of the fast bowler remains in doubt as Shami's participation in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 quarter-finals against Jharkhand will depend on approval from the BCCI and head coach Rahul Dravid, keeping in mind his workload management.
Notably, Saha scored 281 runs in eight matches in the ongoing IPL 2022 with a strike rate of 123.24 with the help of three half-centuries, while Shami has so far taken 18 wickets in 13 matches.
However, Saha's return to the Bengal team made headlines, as he had decided to pull out of the group stage matches of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22, citing "personal reasons", after he was told by the head coach and national selectors that they were looking at the young talents to groom for the future in Tests.
Abhimanyu Easwaran will captain the Bengal team, which includes Shami's younger brother Mohammad Kaif, left-arm spinner Ankit Mishra, Shahbaz Ahmed, and junior state sports minister Manoj Tiwary.
Bengal Squad:
Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohammed Shami, Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Chatterjee, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abhishek Raman, Writtick Chatterjee, Sayan Sekhar Mondal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Ishan Porel, Koushik Ghosh, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, Pradipta Pramanik, Karan Lal, Nilkantha Das, Sudip Gharami, Abhishek Porel, Mohammed Kaif, and Ankit Mishra.
(With PTI Inputs)
