Coach Arun Lal hinted on Monday that Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha may be included in the Bengal Ranji Trophy squad if they reach the summit clash. Bengal need seven wickets to defeat Karnataka in their ongoing last-four clash.
The Virat Kohli-led side preferred swashbuckling Rishabh Pant over Saha for the Test series against New Zealand, which India lost 0-2. With the Test series wrapped up, both Saha and Mohammed Shami would be available but it’s unlikely that the speedster would play. “They are both big players. We would like to have them in our side. But the match is not over yet,” Bengal coach Arun Lal was quoted as saying by PTI.
Chasing a stiff 352, Karnataka have lost star player KL Rahul (0) and skipper Karun Nair (6) cheaply to be 83/3 with two more days remaining in the match. If Karnataka managed to pull off the victory, it would be their record run chase. Their previous highest run chase was 265 against Andhra in 2000-01.
Bengal, who won their previous Ranji title during Sourav Ganguly’s debut season way back in 1989-90, are eyeing their first final in 13 years. They had lost to Mumbai by 132 runs in their last final appearance in 2007.
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