Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Vijay Shankar named Tamil Nadu captain; Suryakumar Yadav to lead Mumbai
Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar will captain Tamil Nadu in the 2019/20 Ranji Trophy, while Baba Aparajith will serve as his deputy.
The Tamil Nadu selectors convened a meeting earlier today to finalise the skipper of the side. Although coach Divakar Vasu was in favour of naming Ravichandran Ashwin as the captain, the fact that the off-spinner will miss the knockout phase of the competition due to international commitments worked against him.
Vijay Shankar has proven his credentials in the past, having lifted the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Deodhar Trophy as skipper.
Tamil Nadu squad for first two matches: Vijay Shankar (captain), B. Aparajith, (vice-captain), M. Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Dinesh Karthik (wk), N. Jagadeesan (wk), R. Ashwin, Sai Kishore, T. Natarajan, K. Vignesh, Abhishek Tanwar, M. Ashwin, M. Siddharth, Shahrukh Khan, K. Mukunth.
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Meanwhile, Mumbai have also named their captain for the upcoming Ranji season, with Suryakumar Yadav set to lead the side.
The 29-year-old captained Mumbai in the 2014/15 season as well, but was replaced midway through the campaign. He was also dropped for the previous edition of the competition and will be looking to make amends by leading his side to the title this time around.
Mumbai will also be buoyed by the fact that Indian international Ajinkya Rahane will be available for the first few games of the competition.
Mumbai will begin their Ranji campaign against Baroda, while Tamil Nadu will lock horns with Karnataka in their opening fixture on December 9.