18-member Bengal squad announced for Ranji semis against Maha

Bengal selectors on Monday named middle-order batsman Sandipan Das and pacer Veer Pratap Singh in the 18-member squad for their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Maharashtra in Indore from January 18 to 22.

Kolkata: Bengal selectors today named middle-order batsman Sandipan Das and pacer Veer Pratap Singh in the 18-member squad for their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Maharashtra in Indore from January 18 to 22.

The regular Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary, who is recovering from a knee surgery, has been included as a provisional member in the squad along with all-rounder Sayan Sekhar Mondal. Tiwary`s fitness would be assessed further at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bangalore on January 15 before taking a call on his selection. Meanwhile, the CAB would put up a goodwill message board outside the Eden Gardens for fans to post their well wishes and greetings. Two-time champions Bengal made the semis for the first time since 2006-07 after beating Railways by 48 runs in the quarter-finals here yesterday. Bengal squad: Laxmi Ratan Shukla (capt), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Arindam Das, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Subhomoy Das, Kaushik Ghosh, Writtick Chatterjee, Sudip Chatterjee, Ashoke Dinda, Shib Shankar Paul, Sourav Sarkar, Saurashish Lahiri, Iresh Saxena, Gitimoy Basu, Sourav Mondal, Arnab Nandy, Sandipan Das and Veer Pratap Singh. Provisional members: Manoj Tiwary, Sayan Sekhar Mondal.