Karnataka release star batsman ahead of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League stage

Team Karnataka has been one of the most dominating sides in the Indian domestic circuit over the last few years. They are now all set to take part in the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018. Ahead of the Super League, the team management has decided to leave out one of their batting mainstays from the squad. This player is none other than Manish Pandey.

Before the eyebrows could raise any further, here is the catch. Manish Pandey has been named in the Indian squad for the limited overs fixtures in South Africa. The dates of the South African tour games and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy collide with one another. Hence, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) opted to leave out Manish from the squad.

However, it is worth noting that the team could have retained the services of Pandey for the first couple of matches. Pandey could have managed to feature in those domestic fixtures before leaving for South Africa. But as it stands out at the moment, the state association did not wish to trouble their star player with fatigue ahead of such a big assignment. Meanwhile, the Karnataka squad still boasts of some very big names.

Big names galore in Karnataka side

They will be led by R Vinay Kumar. Also in the squad are big names like Stuart Binny, K Gowtham, CM Gautam, Karun Nair, and Abhimanyu Mithun. While KSCA decided to leave out Pandey out of the side, Mumbai have named Shreyas Iyer and Shardul Thakur – both South Africa-bound – in their squad for the Super League stage. It will be worth seeing how the Mumbai side manage their resources in the competition now.

Talking about the Vinay Kumar-led side, the team won four out of the five matches played in the Zonal stages of the tournament. They will now lock horns with Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Mumbai in the four Super League games on January 21, 23, 24 and 25 respectively. The Super League will commence on January 21 and the finals of the tournament will be played on January 27.

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