No comeback for Yuvraj, Mandeep to lead Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

CHANDIGARH: The much-awaited return of Yuvraj Singh for Punjab in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament has hit the roadblock. Former India all-rounder, who was in Punjab probables' for the tournament, has written a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI President Sourav Ganguly asking the board's permission to come out of retirement, but he didn't get the approval.
The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has announced swashbuckling middle-order batsman Mandeep Singh as the leader of the 20-man squad at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy National T20 Championships, which will kick off the 2020-21 domestic season next month.
Punjab is placed in Elite Group A along with Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Railways, and Tripura. The league matches will be played at Alur. The team will be departing for Bangalore on January 2.
Gurkeerat Singh Mann is named vice-captain. Left-arm pacer Barinder Sran, who has played six ODIs and two T20Is in 2016, has also been included in the squad after having switched to Chandigarh last year. The surprise selection is of opener Rohan Marwaha, who was not even in the 32-man probables. The southpaw was in excellent form with the bat in the recently-concluded T20 tournament held in Ludhiana.
The team has a blend of youth and experience. Youngsters like Abhishek Sharma, Anmolpreet Singh, Arshdeep Singh Sanvir Singh, Prabhsimran Singh and Mayank Markande will look to bring glory to Punjab, whereas experienced stars like Mandeep, Gurkeerat, pacers Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, and Baltej Singh are an integral part of the side.
Munish Bali, for the second successive year, will be the head coach of Punjab senior team. He will be assisted by former Indian fast bowler Manpreet Singh Gony as bowling coach and Sandeep Sawal as fielding coach.
Punjab reached the quarterfinals stage of the tournament last season.
Squad: Mandeep Singh (C), Gurkeerat Singh Mann (VC), Rohan Marwaha, Abhinav Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Anmol Malhotra, Sanvir Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Karan Kaila, Mayanak Markande, Abhishek Sharma, Ramandeep Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Barinder Singh Sran, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Singh Brar, Baltej Singh Dhanda, Krishan, Gitansh Khera