Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Tournament: Anustup Majumdar to captain Bengal, Mohammed Shami's brother named in squad

Seasoned batsman Anustup Majumdar has been named as the captain of Bengal for the umpcoming season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.

Majumdar has replaced Bengal's star batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran as the captain of the 20-men team announced by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

Veteran wicket-keeper batsman Sreevats Goswami has been named the vice-captain of the Bengal squad for the SMAT. Indian pace spearhead Mohammed Shami's younger brother, Mohammed Kaid, a pace-bowling all-rounder is also part of the squad.

The captaincy is the reward for Majumdar's performance in T20s as he single-handedly helped the Bengal side reach the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season. Majumdar also average a staggering 58.66 in the Ranji Trophy as he amassed 704 runs.

However, CAB has clarified that the 36-year old has been given the captaincy 'only' for the domestic T20 tournament to reduce the 'captaincy burden' from Easwaran.

Given Easwaran is more of a classical defensive batsman, he may no longer be a certainty in the Bengal's T20 line-up due to his inability to play a fast innings, required in the shortest format.

Easwaran's captaincy might have received praises as he took Bengal to the Ranji Trophy final in his debut season as a captain but his failures with the bat didn't go unnoticed. In the 10 matches he played, he scored runs at an average of just 17.20, with only one half-century.

“CAB president Avishek Dalmiya and Hony Secretary Snehasish Ganguly today spoke to Anustup Majumdar, Shreevats Goswami and Abhimanyu Easwaran and made them aware that the decision taken is only for the length of the tournament in question,” the CAB said in a statement on Thursday.

“The selectors felt that without the burden of captaincy over his head Abhimanyu would be able to play more freely and deliver up to his potential,” added the CAB.

Recently, Bengal’s batting consultant, former India batsman VVS Laxman, has backed Abhimanyu to come good in the Ranji Trophy overcoming his poor form in the last season.

“I don’t think captaincy will affect Abhimanyu Easwaran’s performances at all. I believe additional responsibility is much better,” Laxman had said.

Bengal are in Group B with Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam and Hyderabad in Group B and will have an advantage of playing at home.They begin their Mushtaq Ali campaign against Odisha on January 10.

Bengal squad: Anustup Majumdar (captain), Shreevats Goswami (vice-captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Manoj Tiwary, Sudi Chatterjee, Ishan Porel, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, Vivek Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arnab Nandi, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Abhishek Das, Mohammed Kaif, Aritra Chatterjee, Suvankar Bal, Writtick Chatterjee, Prayas Ray Barman, Kaif Ahmed, Ravi Kant Singh.