KOLKATA:
Manoj Tiwary has been appointed skipper of Bengal for the entire 2018-19 domestic season.
The new selection panel, headed by former Bengal captain Palash Nandy met for the first time on Friday evening and also released a 31-strong probables' list.
Tiwary, who attended the meeting along with coach Sairaj Bahutule, laid to rest speculation that he was not interested in leading the state side this season.
"Yes, I am disappointed at not being picked for any of the Duleep Trophy teams, but I have never asked to be relieved of the responsibility of captaincy. Leading Bengal is an honour and privilege, and I am always ready to take up the challenge," he said after the selection committee meeting.
This is the first time in several seasons that the Bengal captain has been named for the entire season so early.
There are no notable omissions in the list. The likes of Prayas Roy Burman, Satyaki Dutta and Shahbaz Ahmed have forced their way into contention on the strength of good performances at the club level.
India players
Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammad Shami have also been included among the probables, although it's quite likely that both will miss a significant part of the domestic season. Saha has already been sidelined with a shoulder injury and will have to undergo surgery early next month.
With monsoon showers ruling out outdoor activity in the state until at least September, the probable will have fitness drills and indoor sessions from Saturday.
The CAB has decided to send the team to the south for some match practice next month. Vision2020 consultants VVS Laxman,
Muttiah Muralitharan and TA Sekar are likely to join the squad there.
The team is expected to travel to Andhra Pradesh in the final week of August.
THE PROBABLES:Manoj Tiwary (captain), Wriddhiman Saha, Mohammad Shami,
Ashok Dinda, Sudip Chatterjee, Abhishek Raman, Koushik Ghosh, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Vivek Singh, Purab Joshi, Anustuph Majumder, Writtick Chatterjee, Satyaki Dutta, Sumanta Gupta, B Amit,
Shreevats Goswami, Sayan Sekhar Mondal, Ayan Bhattacharjee, Amir Gani, Pradipta Pramanik, Prayas Roy Burman, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ishan Porel, Alok Pratap Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Amit Kuila, Veer Pratap Singh, Ritwick Roy Chowdhury,
Pritam Chakraborty.
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