Calcutta: As Bengal take on Gujarat in their crucial Elite Group tie of the Ranji Trophy, veteran Devang Gandhi has opted out and will be replaced by Avishek Jhunjhunwala.

Devang, it has been learnt, made way for Jhunjhunwala because he was not in good form and wanted a break.

“Devang himself approached us, saying that he needs a break for a couple of matches. The team management agreed,” a source revealed.

Bengal are likely to field three seamers. And if that is the case, Shib Sagar Singh will make way for young medium pacer Asok Dinda for the tie commencing on Sunday.

Bengal have nine points in their kitty and need another two points to ensure a semi-final berth. They still have two home matches against Tamil Nadu and Railways.

On the other hand, Gujarat have six points with two matches left.

The match will provide an opportunity to Gujarat stumper Parthiv Patel to strengthen his credentials ahead of the tour to Pakistan, for which he has been selected as the second wicketkeeper.

Teams

Bengal: Deep Dasgupta (captain), Arindam Das, Subhamoy Das, Rohan Gavaskar, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Sourashish Lahiri, Shib Shankar Paul, Ranadeb Bose, Avishek Jhunjhunwala, Sanjib Sanyal, Asok Dinda. Coach: Paras Mhambrey. Manager: Samir Dasgupta.

Gujarat: Mukund Parmar (captain), Parthiv Patel (vice-captain), Bhavik Patel, Niraj Patel, Nilesh Patel, Azar Bilakhia, Hem Joshipura, H. Majmudar, Lalit Patel, Asraf Makda, Kalpesh Patel, S. Trivedi, H. Watekar, Akash Christain, Timil Patel. Chief coach: Anshuman Gaekwad. Manager: B. Ludia.

Umpires: I. Sivaram (Hyderabad) and Dr M. Mahal (Chandigarh).