Abhimanyu Easwaran replaces Manoj Tiwary as Bengal captain for upcoming season
Cricket Association of Bengal announced a 21-man squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy and picked Abhimanyu Easwaran as the skipper instead of Manoj Tiwary. While the team was announced for only the 50-over competition, it was made clear that Easwaran will lead the state for the entire season.
Earlier, the Bengal selectors had thought of the idea of split captaincy with Tiwary leading the team in the shorter formats - Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy - and Easwaran will lead the pack in the Ranji Trophy. However, Tiwary himself advocated for Easwaran saying the latter should lead in all the formats and promised him full support. Times of India has also reported that Sudip Chatterjee will act as Easwaran's deputy for a pre-season tournament, which will feature Rajasthan and Railways in Jaipur.
"We discussed this (split captaincy) with Manoj and he feels that it is important for him to contribute as a player now. Manoj has assured us that he'll guide Easwaran as a senior colleague of the side," CAB joint secretary Avishek Dalmiya said after the meeting of the selection committee, reported ToI.
Easwaran was Bengal's best player last season and his exceptional work ethics have been lauded by coach Arun Lal, who in an interview with Cricinfo, seemed very excited about the change. However, Easwaran is a regular member of the India 'A' side and his availability for the entirety of the domestic season is in the lurch.
"He hasn't got runs on the West Indies tour [by India A] and in the Duleep Trophy, but he is a terrific batsman, very, very talented, and he has an exceptional work ethic. He is young, and the best part about him is his work ethic, which is brilliant. He is very fit, and is always working hard to become fitter and a better cricketer," Lal told ESPNcricinfo.
"I like him very much; he has been living alone in Calcutta, away from his family, for a while now, but it hasn't affected his game at all. It's quite remarkable. I also like that he is very respectful towards his seniors and towards his team-mates. I think it's a good call."
While Bengal is set to open their domestic campaign with a match against former champions Gujarat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over) on September 24, the final squad will be announced after the team return from Jaipur.
Squad for pre-season meet: Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Sudip Chatterjee (vice-captain), Manoj Tiwary, Ashok Dinda, Shreevats Goswami, Anustup Majumder, Vivek Singh, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, Abhishek Raman, Writtick Chatterjee, Akash Deep, Ayan Bhattarcharjee, Raju Halder, Prayas Roy Burman, Shabaaz Ahmed, Ramesh Prasad, Arnab Nandy, Shayan Ghosh, Ishan Porel, Mukesh Kumar, Agniv Pan.
