M Ashwin left out of Ranji squad
The state selection committee on Friday picked the Tamil Nadu Ranji squad for the first two games against Mumbai (in Lahli) and Railways (in Bilaspur) this season on expected lines, albeit with a few surprises.
The core of last year’s team has been retained, with players who performed well in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) getting the nod for the 16-member squad announced by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). Highly-placed sources in the body informed that L Balaji and Avinash will be the bowling and fielding coach respectively.
A glaring omission is that of Murugan Ashwin, who was a part of the India Red squad at the recently-held Duleep Trophy. “The three spinners (Malolan Rangarajan, Rahil Shah and Aushik Shrinivas) have delivered in this format. Thus, Ashwin isn’t in the team. In case one of the three doesn’t do well, he will get his chance,” explained selection committee chairman S Sharath.
Abhinav Mukund, Kaushik Gandhi, L Suryaprakash, Washington Sundar and N Jagadeesan — all of them were openers in TNPL — have been named. “Jagadeesan and Kaushik will be in the lower order,” said B Ramprakash, Tamil Nadu’s Ranji selector from the districts.
“We have covered all bases. I think this the best available side. We have given importance to experience, and also to the boys who have done well in TNPL. Abhinav, Suryaprakash and Washington are the openers. I see Jagadeesan as a floater. We are keen to have Kaushik at No 6, a slot that was previously held by R Prasanna,” Sharath elaborated.
For Thangarasu Natarajan, it is a comeback of sorts. The left-arm pacer represented the state in only one match last year after being named among 177 bowlers with suspect actions by the BCCI. “TNPL helped me grab attention. I expected the call. I have done well for Jolly Rovers, and also in other tournaments. I am keen to impress if I get to play,” he said.
Team: Abhinav Mukund (c), B Aparajith, B Indrajith, MS Washington Sundar, N Jagadeesan, Dinesh Karthik, J Kousik, L Suryapprakash, Rahil Shah, Malolan Rangarajan, Aushik Srinivas, Aswin Crist, M Mohammed, K Vignesh, T Natarajan, Kaushik Gandhi.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cri...-of-Ranji-squad/2016/10/01/article3633892.ece