Humbled Bengal make cosmetic changes

KOLKATA: There was no major churning in the Bengal Ranji Trophy squad even after the humiliating defeat inside two days against Vidarbha in their last match. The Bengal selectors on Tuesday made only cosmetic changes while naming a 16-member squad for the next Elite Group ‘A’ game against Hyderabad, which will begin on Sunday.
The team management has already shifted this upcoming ‘home’ tie from Eden Gardens to Bengal Cricket Academy (BCA) in Kalyani as they plan to opt for a spin-friendly track.Accordingly, all the three spinners — Shahbaz Ahmed, Arnab Nandy and Shreyan Chakraborty — who played against Vidarbha have been retained. With Ritwik Roy Chowdhury out with a cartilage tear, Writtick Chatterjee was named in the side for the first time this Ranji season. Writtick was preferred as the all-rounder can contribute with the bat in the middle order, and also chip in with his off-spin in case the team needs another bowling option.
Under-23 batsman Kazi Junaid Saifi, who was initially named in the squad against Gujarat before being sent back for Col CK Nayudu Trophy matches, has been recalled and stands a good chance of making his senior Bengal debut on Sunday. With Bengal batsmen failing miserably this season, Saifi got the nod due to his consistent good run. The left-handed batsman scored 534 runs to help Bengal win the National U-23 one-day tournament this season.
Medium-pacer Nilkantha Das, who has been in-and-out of the Bengal squad for quite some time, has once again found a place.
Interestingly, in spite of the team’s debacle, the selectors preferred not to recall experienced Sudip Chatterjee and Ashok Dinda. While the latter’s disciplinary issue is yet to be resolved, Sudip looked in good nick in a local league match, scoring 98 for Mohun Bagan against Bhowanipore on Monday. However, that was not enough to convince the selectors.
Ranadeb shunted out:
In a significant development, Bengal bowling coach Ranadeb Bose has been shunted out, with the team management asking Utpal Chatterjee to assist the side for the Hyderabad match. The former Bengal spinner who was named the team’s spin-bowling consultant in June last year, is expected to play an important role if Bengal get a turning track they are seeking. “Ranadeb will assist the Bengal U-23 and U-19 sides,” CAB secretary Avishek Dalmiya informed.
The squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Manoj Tiwary, Anushtup Majumder, Sreevats Goswami, Abhishek Raman, Kaushik Ghosh, Writtick Chatterjee, Arnab Nandy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Ayan Bhattacharjee, Shreyan Chakraborty, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Nilkantha Das.