Tamil Nadu likely to appoint Vijay Shankar as the skipper for Ranji Trophy

The pace bowling all-rounder Vijay Shankar is likely to be named as the skipper of Tamil Nadu for the upcoming season of Ranji Trophy. He is not new to the job though as he led his team to the title triumphs in the Vijay Hazare and Deodhar Trophies last season. Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic first-class tournament, is set to commence on October 6.

The 26-year-old youngster has amassed 1553 runs in 29 first-class matches at an amazing average of 50.09 and also has 21 wickets. While leading the team in previous seasons, he appeared comfortable and rotated the bowlers nicely and most importantly the added responsibility did not hamper his own performances. The all-rounder is set to join the ongoing conditioning camp of Tamil Nadu probables in Dehradun on Friday.

Most importantly, Shankar possesses the required ingredients for the captain. He is certain of his place in the eleven, has ‘winning’ experience of state captaincy in the shorter formats and shares a healthy rapport both with the seniors and the younger bunch. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the longest format and looks a good player to make the cut into the national side.

Abhinav Mukund requested to relieve from captaincy

According to Sportstarlive, Abhinav Mukund wants a break from captaincy to focus on his batting. He led the side in the previous season but the pressure of the added responsibility seems to be affecting his batting. There are chances too that the left-hander could be picked in the Indian squad as a reserve opener for the home Test series against Sri Lanka in November-December; the dates will clash with that of the Ranji Trophy.

Good performance in the series might see Abhinav travelling to South Africa next year. He has already impressed in the limited opportunities he has got and might get a long rope in the side.