Dinesh Karthik to lead Tamil Nadu in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik will lead the Tamil Nadu side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy next year. The tournament will begin from January 10, with all-rounder Vijay Shankar named as vice-captain.

Tamil Nadu have been placed in Elite Group B alongside Jharkhand, Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad and Assam. Dinesh Karthik will hope to lead his side to glory this season, especially after the team's heartbreaking loss last year’s final to Karnataka by one run.

The State Senior Selection Committee of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association has selected the following Players to represent the Tamil Nadu State Senior Team to participate in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Tournament in Kolkata#TNCA pic.twitter.com/ubhuBpVcWt

— TNCA (@TNCACricket) December 23, 2020

Dinesh Karthik confirmed as Tamil Nadu captain

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association announced a 20-member squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on December 23, keeping in mind the COVID-19 restrictions.

Dinesh Karthik will lead a side that has a good mix of youth and experience. The 35-year-old will be hoping that the team can perform just like it did last year, and win the competition.

It's not only the batsmen who always have to stick their 👀 to the ball! pic.twitter.com/ZOPpz3XcDU

— DK (@DineshKarthik) December 19, 2020

Apart from Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar, the Tamil Nadu squad can also call upon youngsters like Sandeep Warrier and N Jagadeesan. While Warrier played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, N Jagadeesan made a handful of appearances for Chennai Super Kings in 2020. IPL regular M Ashwin is also part of Dinesh Karthik’s side this season.

Tamil Nadu misses several key players

Despite having several household names in the side, the Tamil Nadu team will have to make do without several key players for the tournament.

The team will be without the services of Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar and T Natarajan, with the trio in Australia on national duty. Veteran opener Murali Vijay also pulled out of the tournament a few days ago due to personal reasons.

Complete Tamil Nadu squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali

Squad: Dinesh Karthik (captain), Vijay Shankar (vice-captain), B Aparajith, B Indrajith, M Shahrukh Khan, C Hari Nishaanth, K B Arun Karthik, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, N Jagadeesan, Aswin Crist, M Mohammed, G Periyasamy, Sandeep Warrier, J Kousik, R Sonu Yadav, M Ashwin, R Sai Kishore, M Siddharth, L Suryapprakash, R S Jaganath Sinivas.