Wriddhiman Saha returns, Mohammad Shami subject to BCCI clearance as Bengal announce Ranji knockout squad

Veteran wicketkeeper batter Wriddhiman Saha is part of the 22-member Bengal squad announced on Monday by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals.

The 37-year-old opted out of the league phase earlier this year, citing personal reasons. However, it was widely reported that the India international skipped the group stage after India coach Rahul Dravid told him that he was not in the team's future plans.

Saha's return to the domestic fold will be a massive boost for Bengal. He has been in spectacular form in the ongoing IPL 2022, scoring 281 runs in eight games for Gujarat Titans (GT).

Bengal will also have senior pacer Mohammad Shami in the squad. However, his participation is subject to the BCCI clearance, as the apex body wants all players fresh ahead of the fifth and final Test against England.

Meanwhile, Bengal, the 2019-20 runners-up, will be led by Abhimanyu Easwaran. The team will have veteran batter Manoj Tiwary in their ranks and a few others who are currently playing in the IPL.

Bengal Squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohammad Shami (subject to BCCI clearance), Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Chatterjee, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abhishek Kumar Raman, Writtick Chatterjee, Sayan Shekhar Mandal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Ishan Porel, Koushik Ghosh, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, Pradipta Pramanik, Karan Lal, Nilkantha Das, Sudip Kr. Gharami, Abhishek Porel, Mohd. Kaif, Ankit Mishra,

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Bengal to play Jharkhand in Ranji Trophy quarter-final

Easwaran and Co., who were consistent in the league stage, will lock horns with Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy Quarter-final 1 at the Just Cricket Academy in Bengaluru on June 6.

Meanwhile, there will be no quarantine for the players despite the matches games being played inside a bio-bubble. However, they will have to submit a negative RT-PCR report upon arrival.

The semi-finals are scheduled to take place between June 12 and 16, while the mega-final will be on June 20.