Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020-21: Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay, Vijay Shankar make it to Tamil Nadu probables

Indian cricketers Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay and Vijay Shankar were named in Tamil Nadu’s 26-member probables list for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, which starts next month.

Karthik had led Tamil Nadu to the runners-up spot in the 2019-20 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Shankar had top-scored for Tamil Nadu in the final with 44 - a match they went on to lose by a run against Karnataka at Surat.

Karthik and Shankar were a part of India’s 2019 World Cup squad, whereas Vijay was India’s Test specialist who lost his place in the side after their defeat at Perth two years back.

Karthik, Vijay and Shankar played in the IPL 2020 earlier this year for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) respectively.

Arun Karthick, Aswin Crist make a return

Batsman KB Arun Karthick has returned to the Tamil Nadu side after seven years. The list also includes speedster Sandeep Warrier, who switched from Kerala ahead of the season.

After a gap of almost three years, pacer Aswin Crist makes a return. He last represented the state in February 2018. The 26-year-old has 14 T20 wickets at 12.64 from eight games with an economy rate of 6.55.

Tamil Nadu will miss the services of their stars Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar and T Natarajan as the cricketers are in Australia for national duty.

The selected cricketers will play three practice matches between December 19 and 21 at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, after which the final squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be picked.

“We have chosen the players based on last year’s performance. It is a balanced one with a mix of experience and youth,” S Vasudevan told PTI.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was postponed to January 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament will be played across six states in bio-secure bubbles from January 10 to 31.

Tamil Nadu probables for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020-21: Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay, B Aparajith, B Indrajith, Vijay Shankar, M Shahrukh Khan, C Hari Nishaanth, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, KB Arun Karthik, Akshay V Srinivasan, N Jagadeesan, M Abhinav, Aswin Crist, M Mohammed, G Periyasamy, Sandeep Warrier, S Harish Kumar, K Vignesh, R Silambarasan, J Kousik, R Sonu Yadav, M Ashwin, R Sai Kishore, M Siddharth, L Sathiyannaarayanan and M E Yazh Arun Mozhi.