Mohammed Shami's Brother In Bengal Squad For Syed Mushtaq Ali T20

Veteran batsman Anustup Majumdar was named Bengal captain for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, replacing Abhimanyu Easwaran. Shreevats Goswami will be Majumdar's deputy in the squad that also has Mohammed Shami's younger brother, seam bowling all-rounder Mohammed Kaif.

Majumdar was rewarded with the captaincy for his stupendous show in the last season where he literally singlehandedly carried Bengal to the final. The Cricket Association of Bengal, however, said the 36-year-old Majumdar was appointed "only" for the domestic T20 tournament to free Easwaran of the "captaincy burden".

The truth is that a defensive batsman like Easwaran is no longer a certainty in the shortest format because of his inability to force the pace of his innings. He has also slipped considerably in the pecking order of national reckoning after a dismal last season where he failed to get a single half-century. Easwaran in his debut season as Bengal skipper in 2019-20 led them to their Ranji final but the opener had a pathetic run with the bat, averaging 17.20 from 10 matches with just one half-century.