Manoj Tiwary appointed Bengal skipper for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament

Bengal has appointed Manoj Tiwary as the leader of the pack for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament in India. He led his side to the quarterfinals of the recently concluded Ranji Trophy, the first-class competition in the country. The selectors Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) seem to be very happy with the work of Tiwary and are looking up to him to take the team forward. However, it remains to be seen if Bengal can replicate the performances in Ranji season in the shortest format of the game.

The latest edition of the first-class tournament was an inspirational one for Bengal as they made it to the knockouts. They were up against some tough teams in Group D but lost only a solitary game thereby securing the second position in the points table only behind the eventual winners Vidarbha. Though their campaign was cut short by Delhi, many were impressed with the captaincy of Manoj Tiwary. He would love to perform well in the T20 leg as well and win the crown for Bengal.

Sudip Chatterjee has been announced as the vice-captain of the side who will assist him in the proceedings. The players like Ashoke Dinda, veteran Anustup Majumdar, Kanishk Sheth, Amir Gani, Sayan Ghosh make up the team from the eastern part of Indian subcontinent. But they will miss the services of Mohammad Shami and Wriddhiman Saha who are currently in South Africa for the Test series commencing on January 5.

BCCI preponed the T20 tournament

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to prepone Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in order to provide the players to present themselves before the franchises ahead of an all-important auction of Indian Premier League (IPL). The players will go under the hammer on January 27 and 28 as the domestic cricketers would be keen to put their hands up in the upcoming contest. The possible money in the cash-rich T20 league would surely bring the best out of them which will eventually spice up the competition.

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