A Reporter
SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Cricket Association has finalized its squad for the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The domestic T20 tournament will begin on October 27 and the Plate Group, which Meghalaya is in, matches will be held in Vijayawada. The other teams in the group are Tripura, Vidarbha, Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
The 20-member squad has some new and familiar faces. Veteran Jason Lamare is in as well as the exciting Dippu Sangma, along with Punit Bisht, who has been a guest-professional player for Meghalaya ever since the state played its first season of domestic cricket in 2018-19. Last year saw him strike the second-highest score in the history of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with an innings of 146 not out.
The other guest players are Ravi Teja (now in his third season with Meghalaya) and the new face of Chiraj Khurana, a 28-year-old all-rounder who replaces Sanjay Yadav. Khurana hails from Haryana but has played domestic cricket for Maharashtra.
The domestic season was badly disrupted last season, with the Ranji Trophy cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Only two men's tournaments were held – Vijay Hazare Trophy (the one day tournament) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Meghalaya won three and lost two games in the latter.
Meghalaya Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad: Kishan Lyngdoh, Kilco Marak, Larry Sangma, Wanlambok Nongkhlaw, Md Nafees Siddique, Yogesh Tiwari, Anish Charak, Riboklang Hynniewta, Jason J Lamare, Ram Gurung, Hemant Phukan, Rohit Shah, Welmanson Passah, Johny M Sangma, Akash K Chaudhary, Chengkam Sangma, Dippu Sangma, Punit Bisht, Ravi Teja, Chirag Khurana
Meghalaya support staff: Dheeraj Jadav (head coach), Sudesh Pradhan (assistant coach), Surojit Biswas (physio), Himmat Singh (trainer), Chiang D Shira (manager).
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