The Senior Selection Committee of Tamil Nadu headed by S Sharath had a surprise inclusion to their squad after naming uncapped medium pacer V Lakshman in the 15 member squad for this season’s opening Ranji Trophy clash against Andhra Pradesh from 6th October. Indian opener Abhinav Mukund has been retained as the captain of the team and will be receiving able guidance from international stalwarts Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin.
“We have picked the team with the right mixture of experience and youth. Abhinav did a good job last season and took the team to the semifinals. He was a natural choice. With Ashwin and Vijay, the side looks strong and we hope to start on a good note,’’said Sharath, the Chairman of the Selection Committee.
He further stated that it was the injuries suffered by the regular medium pacers which paved the way for the selection of Lakshman.
“R Natarajan, Aswin Crist are injured. So we picked K Vignesh, L Vignesh and Lakshman. Natarajan needs more time to get back in shape,’’ aid D Girish another member of the selection panel. “We wanted to have a strong senior and U-23 side. There is no point in being in the reserves. So we made Kousik captain of the U-23 side. This was the case also with Shahrukh Khan and Anirudh Sita Ram,’’ added Sharath.
“Lakshman, in the first five games in the league, was the highest wicket-taker. Lakshman helped his team (Nelson SC) move up to the elite group and similarly, left-arm spinner Sai Kishore has been at his imperious best in the TNCA League and the TNPL. When a player is in prime form then it makes good sense in picking him rather than waiting for the right opportunity at least at the domestic level.” Lakshman is delighted to be in the team.
“Even today during practice when Abhinav spoke to me I got really excited. He told me what it takes to be a first-class cricketer and areas I need to work on,’’ he said.