Baba Aparajith to lead TN in Mushtaq Ali Trophy

CHENNAI: Baba Aparajith will lead Tamil Nadu’s title defence in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which will be hosted at various centres between October 11 and November 5.

The state senior selection committee picked a 16-member squad for the SMAT, in which Tamil Nadu is the double defending champion.

Wicketkeeper J Suresh Kumar and big-hitting middle-order batter G Ajitesh, who impressed for Lyca Kovai Kings and Nellai Royal Kings respectively in the Tamil Nadu Premier League Season 6, have received maiden call-ups.

“We have a balanced squad, which is strong. We expect the team to win the title again. We have brought in a couple of youngsters who did well in T20s in the last 12 months,” selection panel chairman S Vasudevan told DT Next.

Off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar and left-arm Thangarasu Natarajan have been included in the squad while SMAT 2021 title-winning captain Vijay Shankar was not considered. In fact, Washington, who had injured his shoulder during the English County stint, has been named deputy to Aparajith.

Both Natarajan and Vijay Shankar have been out of action with injuries since the end of the Indian Premier League. “We have been told that Washington and Natarajan will be fit for the SMAT. That is why we picked them. Vijay Shankar has not played even a single match this season. There is no update on his fitness,” said Vasudevan.

The bowling department includes four specialist spinners and three medium pacers. Spin-bowling all-rounders Shahrukh Khan and Sanjay Yadav, both in form in white-ball cricket, could be the points of positive difference in crunch moments.

Tamil Nadu has been placed in Group E along with Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Chandigarh and Sikkim. The Aparajith-led team will play its first-round matches in Lucknow.

SQUAD: Baba Aparajith (c), Washington Sundar, B Sai Sudharsan, Thangarasu Natarajan, Shahrukh Khan, R Sai Kishore, Sanjay Yadav, Sandeep Warrier, Manimaran Siddharth, Varun Chakravarthy, J Suresh Kumar, C Hari Nishaanth, Narayan Jagadeesan, R Silambarasan, Murugan Ashwin and G Ajitesh