Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy 2019-20: Dinesh Karthik to lead Tamil Nadu; squad announced

After leading the Tamil Nadu team into the finals of Vijay Hazare one-day tournament, Dinesh Karthik has been chosen to lead the team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy as well, which is supposed to get underway on November 8. The T20 event will be played till December 1, 2019. The team has been placed in Group B.

All the matches of Group B involving Tamil Nadu will be played in Thiruvananthapuram from November 8 to 17. Other teams in this group are Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, and host Kerala. The top two teams progress to the next stage. However, in big news, opener Abhinav Mukund, who batted amazingly well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, failed to find a spot in the T20 format team for the upcoming T20 league.

Vijay Shankar named Karthik’s deputy

All-rounder Vijay Shankar has been named Dinesh Karthik’s deputy and M. Senthilnathan, chairman of the State selection panel gave a statement on the omission of Abhinav Mukund. “Abhinav had a fine Vijay Hazare tournament where we did very well to reach the final. But the panel felt his game is more suited to Ranji Trophy and one-day cricket where he is an automatic choice,” he was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

“And we have youngsters such as N. Jagadeesan and Hari Nishaanth who have done well up the order in Twenty20 cricket. Then we also possess the experienced M. Vijay who has had his moments in this format,” he further added. Meanwhile, Senthilnathan also cleared that R Ashwin is available for Tamil Nadu until the Tests against Bangladesh begin, while Washington Sundar will join the team after the T20I matches end.

The only new face to be included in the team was fast bowler G Periaswamy, who made name for himself in the Tamil Nadu Premier League for Chepauk Super Gillies. He has a slingy action similar to Lasith Malinga and is one of the most exciting faces to play in the game. The team is expected to have a short camp in Chennai, Tirunelveli or Dindigul — depending on rain in these areas — from October 31 to November 5 before leaving for Thiruvananthapuram.

Tamil Nadu squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy:

Dinesh Karthik (captain), Vijay Shankar (vice-captain), M. Vijay, N. Jagadeesan, C. Hari Nishaanth, B. Aparajith, M. Shahrukh Khan, R. Ashwin, M. Ashwin, R. Sai Kishore, T. Natarajan, G. Periyaswamy, K. Vignesh, M. Mohammad, J. Kousik.

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