SMAT 2022: Baba Aparajith set to lead as Tamil Nadu announce 15-member squad 

Tamil Nadu team in action [PC: Twitter]

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), on Wednesday, announced a 15-man squad for the upcoming 2022 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). 

The team will be led by Baba Aparajith, with spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar acting as his deputy. Sundar is returning from an injury he sustained during his County stint with Lancashire. 

Former Tamil Nadu captain S Vasudevan, who is heading the TN state senior selection committee, included T Natarajan in the squad while leaving out the likes of Vijay Shankar, M Mohammed, and J Kousik.

Shankar is still not fully-fit after suffering an injury during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, playing for winners Gujarat Titans.

Vijay Shankar has missed the cut [PC: Twitter]

Selectors have also included Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Sai Kishore, Varun Chakravarthy, and M Ashwin, ensuring there is a depth of experience in the absence of Baba Indrajith, Jagadeesan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Shankar.

J Suresh Kumar and G Ajitesh have been called into the setup seeing their performances in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).

Tamil Nadu Squad for SMAT 2022

B Aparajith (c), Washington Sundar (vc), B Sai Sudharsan, T Natarajan, M Shahrukh Khan, R Sai Kishore, R Sanjay Yadav, Sandeep Warrier, M Siddharth, Varun Chakravarthy, J Suresh Kumar, C Hari Nishaanth, R Silambarasan, M Ashwin, and G Ajitesh.​

Tamil Nadu have been placed in Elite Group E, alongside Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Sikkim, Bengal, Jharkhand, and Chandigarh. The two-time SMAT champions will play their tournament opener against Chhattisgarh on October 11.

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