Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season finalists Bengal have announced their squad for the 2023-24 season. The Bengal team reached the final last season but lost to Saurashtra in the final. It has been one of the successful teams on the national circuit with a good track record. Bengal is considered to be the strongest team in the Eastern Zone in domestic cricket.
The last time Bengal won a Ranji Trophy was in the 1989-90 season, when they defeated Delhi to win the title after 31 years. They won the title twice in 1938-39 and 1989-90 respectively. They have played in 15 finals and have won only twice, finishing runner-up 13 times. They have been defeated by Saurashtra the last two times they qualified for the final.
The Cricket Association of Bengal announced its squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season and has again appointed Manoj Tiwary as captain. He has been leading the team for a long time and this will be his last season with Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, according to reports. Manoj Tiwary also serves as the Sports and Youth Affairs Minister of Bengal and represents the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Manoj Tiwary scored 68 in the second innings of the final against Saurashtra last season. Apart from Manoj Tiwary, Anustup Majumdar and Sudip Gharami also feature in the team. Majumdar and Gharami were the two highest run-getters for Bengal last season. Anustup Majumdar scored 867 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.93 and Sudip Gharami amassed 803 runs in 18 innings at an average of 50.19.
Watch: Bengal team for the upcoming Ranji Trophy
Bengal Team for Ranji Trophy:
Manoj Tiwary (C), Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Gharami, Abishek Porel, Sourav Paul, Shreyansh Ghosh, Shubham Chatterjee, Ranjot Khaira, Ishan Porel, Akash Deep, Kaushik Maity, Karan Lal, Suraj Jaiswal, Mohammed Kaif, Ankit Mishra, Prayas Burman ,…
– Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) December 29, 2023
Bengal have a track record of playing the second-most finals in the history of the competition, with only Mumbai being the team to have played the most finals. They will hope to give a well-deserved farewell to Manoj Tiwary by winning the Ranji Trophy for the third time in its history. They have a well balanced side with batting and bowling, both departments having the same ample strength.
They have players like Akash Deep and Ishan Porel in the bowling. Akash Deep was the highest wicket-taker for them in the last season where he took 41 wickets in 10 matches. Apart from these players, fast bowler Mukesh Kumar and batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran could be added to the team. Kumar and Easwaran are currently in South Africa for the Test series and are likely to be included in the five-match Test series against England at home.
Bengal Team for Ranji Trophy: Manoj Tiwary (C), Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Gharami, Abishek Porel, Sourav Paul, Shreyansh Ghosh, Shubham Chatterjee, Ranjot Khaira, Ishan Porel, Akash Deep, Kaushik Maity, Karan Lal, Suraj Jaiswal, Mohammed Kaif, Ankit Mishra, Prayas Burman
Bengal will be looking forward to next season and hope to end a 34-year trophy drought. He has reached the final many times but has not managed to win the title of ‘Champion’. Manoj Tiwary would hope to win the title in what would be his last campaign for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.
