Dinesh Karthik to lead Tamil Nadu in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 with Vijay Shankar as his deputy

Chennai: Wicket-keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik was on Tuesday named to lead Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 cricket tournament to be held at Thiruvananthapuram from 8 to 17 November.

All-rounder Vijay Shankar will be his deputy, a press release from Tamil Nadu Cricket Association said

The team includes international cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin, Murali Vijay and MS Washington Sundar, who will join the squad after the conclusion of the India-Bangladesh T20 series.

Fast bowler G Periyaswamy, who impressed in this year’s Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) for Chepauk Super Gillies, is the only new face in the squad.

The paceman with a slingy action similar to Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga, has overcome vision issues in his right eye, shone in the TNPL and has been rated highly.

The Tamil Nadu team had finished runner-up in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50 overs) tournament recently, losing in the final to Karnataka.

The Karthik-led side had won all nine nine matches in group C before overcoming Punjab (via rain rule) and Gujarat in the quarter-finals and semi-final respectively.

Players including Karthik, Baba Aparajith, Abhinav Mukund, M Shahrukh Khan and bowlers T Natarajan, K Vignesh, M Mohammed and M Ashwin had performed well in the tournament.

Left-handed opener Abhinav Mukund, who had a good run in the Hazare Trophy, however, doesn’t find a place in the team for the T20 tournament.

Squad: Dinesh Karthik (captain), Vijay Shankar (vice-captain), M Vijay, N Jagadeesan, C Hari Nishaanth, B Aparajith,M Shahrukh Khan, R Ashwin, M Ashwin, R Sai Kishore, T Natarajan,G Periyaswamy, K Vignesh, M Mohammed, J Kousik.

Washington Sundar will join the team after the completion of the Twenty/20 series against Bangladesh.