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Bengal named their 20-men squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Pacers Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar have been named in the squad. Meantime, Sudip Kumar Gharami was named the captain of the squad. Bengal will play their first match against Delhi on 21st December at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Mohammed Shami played Bengal's Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh and then played all the matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where Bengal crashed out against Baroda in the quarter-finals. Post the defeat against Baroda, Shami returned back to the National Cricket Academy and doctors monitored his knee, and noticed there was some swelling.
Shami took 11 wickets at an economy of 7.85 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Meantime, Mukesh Kumar, who is in Australia at the moment as a travel reserve along with the Indian cricket team, has been named in the squad as well. Mukesh has been one of the best bowlers in the Indian domestic circuit and Bengal will surely benefit from his presence.
Along with them, bowlers like Sayan Ghosh and Kanishk Seth who did well during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, were kept in the squad for the 50-over format as well. Meantime, young pacers Rohit Kumar and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal also found their place in the Bengal brigade.
Veteran batter Anustup Majumdar, who was the captain of the Bengal team in the Ranji trophy, will play as a batter in the middle order and will be key for Bengal's success. Sudip Gharami will be another key batter for them besides captaining the side.
Among the newcomers, Sumanta Gupta, who had debuted for Bengal in VHT way back in 2018, has returned to the squad. Along with him, Subham Chatterjee is another new name from Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad.
Abishek Porel and Karan Lal, who had a great run in the 20-over format, might continue as the openers for Bengal. Shakir Habib Gandhi will be the second wicket-keeper of the squad. In the spin bowling department along with Pradipta Pramanik and Kaushik Maity, Vikash Singh will come as the third left-arm spinner. Interestingly, Writtick Chatterjee was one of the few players from the SMAT team who could not find himself in the VHT squad.
Bengal squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25
Sudip Kumar Gharami (C), Mohammed Shami, Anustup Majumdar, Abhishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee Karan Lal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Ranjot Singh Khaira, Pradipta Pramanik, Kaushik Maity, Vikas Singh (Sr), Mukesh Kumar, Saksham Chaudhary, Rohit Kumar, Md Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth
Bengal's schedule in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25
- vs Delhi - 21st December - 9 am - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
- vs Tripura - 26th December - 9 am - NexGen Cricket Ground, Hyderabad
- vs Baroda - 28th December - 9 am - Gymkhana Ground, Hyderabad
- vs Kerala - 31st December - 9 am - NexGen Cricket Ground, Hyderabad
- vs Bihar - 3rd January 2025 - 9 am - Gymkhana Ground, Hyderabad
- vs MP - 5th January 2025 - 9 am - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad