Kolkata : Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary’s participation in the forthcoming Ranji Trophy quarter final against Madhya Pradesh still hang in balance . The Bengal captain who injured his calf muscle in the Mushtaq Ali trophy against Hyderabad is still yet to recover fully . A final decision on Manoj will be taken after 48 hours assessing his fitness .
Manoj today practiced with his Bengal team mates at the Eden Gardens. Earlier it seemed that the southpaw won’t be available for the rest of the season. Manoj will fly to Mumbai tomorrow to see BCCI appointed doctor Dean Shaw to assess his injury . Before that a MRI was done on him today. Manoj himself sounds very positive after the practice session. “While batting I don’t have any problem.But I am feeling a little bit of pain at the time of running. I will take the final call after consulting with doctor. Let’s hope for the best.
Bengal will face Madhya Pradesh in a very important quarter final tie on 3rd February at the Brabourne Stadium (CCI). Bengal doesn’t have a very good track record against Madhya Pradesh. With the ranks of Ishwar Pandey and Puneet Datey in the Madhya Pradesh bowling line up Bengal would be desperately want their captain to be fit for the match .
Brabourne has a history of favouring the pacers . Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule told that he was ready for the challenge. “Brabourne pitch does help the pacers but it also ease into a batting paradise . We have to overcome it”.
Meanwhile Bengal batsman Sudip Chatterjee’s debut for the India-A started on a bitter note. Although his team defeated Gujarat by six wickets but Sudip got out for a paltry 6 runs.