Ravi Ashwin, Murali Vijay named in Tamil Nadu squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy

Ravi Ashwin and Murali Vijay have been named in the Tamil Nadu team for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. The tournament will be played from February 5 to 14. Both the cricketers featured in the Indian team that lost 1-2 in the recently-concluded three-Test series against South Africa.

The 16-member team, which was announced on Wednesday, will be led by all-rounder Vijay Shankar. However, they will be without the services of experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who is part of the Indian ODI and T20 teams in South Africa. Baba Aparajith has been bestowed with vice-captaincy duties.

The team will bear a different look as their proficient batsman Abhinav Mukund, who led the state side in the Ranji Trophy, will have to sit on the sidelines after incurring an injury. On the other hand, pacer Aswin Crist makes a comeback after missing the Ranji season with an injury.

Tamil Nadu keen to make a mark

After failing to win the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament (Zonal T20 league), the Tamil Nadu players would be keen to make a mark in the Vijay Hazare trophy. They take on Gujarat in their opener on 5 February, Goa on 6 February, Mumbai on 8 February, Madhya Pradesh on 9 February, Andhra on 11 February and Rajasthan on 14 February in their Group C fixtures.

The state selection committee chairman S Sharath also added that the presence of Ashwin and Vijay will provide a major morale boost to the team. “The squad is a mix of experience and youth. The presence of Ashwin and Vijay will be a boost for the team. A few good players missed out,” he added.

Tamil Nadu Squad:

Vijay Shankar (captain), B Aparajith (vice-captain), R Ashwin, M Vijay, M Kaushik Gandhi, MS Washington Sundar, Ganga Sridhar Raju, B Anirudh Sita Ram, N Jagadeesan (WK), K Vignesh, V Yomahesh, Aswin Crist, J Kousik, R Sai Kishore, Raahil Shah, M Abhinav.

Here’s the KXIP full squad