On Wednesday, India Test players Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay were included in the Tamil Nadu team for Vijay Hazare Trophy Group C League, which will be played from February 5 to 14.
The two cricketers were part of the team that went down 1-2 in the three-Test series against South Africa, which concluded recently. While Vijay was never a regular in the India limited-over set up, Ashwin has lost his place in the team and so has Ravindra Jadeja.
The 16-member team led by all-rounder Vijay Shankar will be without the services of experienced keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who is part of the Indian ODI and T20 teams in South Africa. Baba Aparajith is the vice-captain, said a TNCA release. Abhinav Mukund, who led the state side in the Ranji Trophy, misses out due to injury.
Pacer Aswin Crist, who missed the Ranji Trophy season owing to injury, makes a comeback.
The Tamil Nadu selection committee chairman S Sharath said the presence of Ashwin and Vijay will be a boost to the team.
“The squad is a mix of experience and youth. The presence of Ashwin and Vijay will be a boost for the team. A few good players missed out,” he said.
Squad: Vijay Shankar (captain), B Aparajith (vice-captain), R Ashwin, M Vijay, M Kaushik Gandhi, M S Washington Sundar, Ganga Sridhar Raju, B Anirudh Sita Ram, N Jagadeesan (WK), K Vignesh, V Yomahesh, Aswin Crist, J Kousik, R Sai Kishore, Raahil Shah, M Abhinav.
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