'Trying to prepare to the best of our ability' – Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary ahead of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary has said that the team is preparing to the best of their abilities for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The famous T20 tournament will kickstart the domestic cricket season in India after it was heavily impacted earlier in the year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bengal side, which is in Group B along with Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad, will be looking to perform better than they did the last time out. Bengal finished third in the 2019/20 season, failing to qualify for the subsequent Super League stage.
Manoj Tiwary gave an update on the Bengal team's preparations ahead of the upcoming tournament.
"The intensity is really good, we had two practice sessions. VVS Laxman has come here for a 10-day camp, practice is going on well. We are trying to prepare to the best of our ability. We know the new rules and so we are preparing really hard," said Manoj Tiwary.
The Bengal side have been training with VVS Laxman
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) shared the video of Manoj Tiwary giving the training update, with the association also posting pictures from the team’s practice session in recent days.
The body has also shared clips of cricketers and coaches in the Bengal team talking about the tournament, which is set to begin on January 10, 2021.
The Bengal side is currently training at the Jadavpur University's second campus ground in Kolkata. On Tuesday, the team was seen training under the leadership of legendary cricketer VVS Laxman.
The former cricketer serves as the consultant for CAB’s Vision Project and is part of the programme which helps the Bengal side prepare for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
VVS Laxman was earlier seen spending long hours with the top-order batsmen on the opening day of the camp, and the legendary batsman’s guidance will surely help the Bengal cricketers in the upcoming campaign.
The fact that all the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches will be played at the Eden Gardens and in Jadavpur will come as a welcome boost to the Bengal team, with the side set to enjoy the home advantage this season.
Complete list of Bengal team’s Syed Mushtaq Ali probables
Abhimanyu Eswaran, Manoj Tiwary, Sudip Chatterjee, Anustup Majumdar, Shreevats Goswami, Ishan Porel, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, Subham Chatterjee, Vivek Singh, Shahbaz Ahamad, Arnab Nandy, Sudip Gharami, Mukesh Kumar, Aksh Deep, Ravi Kant Singh, Abhishek Das, Sandipan Das (senior), Mohammed Kaif, Subham Sarkar, Aritra Chatterjee, Subhankar Bal, Writtick Chatterjee, Prayas Ray Barman, Sujit Yadav, and Kaif Ahmed