Calcutta: The senior cricket selection committee on Friday included Laxmi Ratan Shukla in the 15-member squad for the Ranji Trophy match against Assam in Guwahati, from Tuesday. This was a comeback of sorts for Shukla who wasn’t picked for the match against Odisha.

The former Bengal captain injured his knee during Bengal’s opening fixture this season, against Karnataka.
“Laxmi has been training under the supervision of Joydeep Mukherjee for the last few days. He’s looking good in all three departments — batting, bowling and fielding… That made him an automatic choice in the team,” said senior selector Sambaran Banerjee.

Shukla’s selection in the side augurs well for the side. Assam have been in superb form this season with pacer Krishna Das creating havoc. Shukla’s experience and talent will surely come in handy in such a situation.
Both Bengal and Assam are tied on 25 points each and Bengal will need at least three points to confirm their entry into the knock-out rounds.

Shukla, however, didn’t hide his happiness. “It’s good to be back. Playing for Bengal and performing for the team has always been my motivation and will continue to be so. 

“Representing Bengal and contributing for the side give me immense happiness. I hope I can come up with further meaningful contributions. It’s not that I motivate only myself in this regard. I want to motivate and encourage teammates too, to do well for the team. I hope for the best,” said Shukla.

Shukla’s non-inclusion in the squad during Bengal’s previous match against Odisha had stirred a hornet’s nest. “Laxmi has to be match fit,” CAB president Sourav Ganguly had said.

With no local matches taking place, there was no way Shukla could have performed in a match to prove himself. So it was left to the selectors to speak to Joydeep before including Shukla.

However, there couldn’t have been different set of rules for different players. This season itself, opener Abhimanyu Easwaran was included in the squad as soon as he recovered from an injury suffered during one of the Ranji matches.
While Shukla came in place of Pramod Chandila, Sayan Ghosh has been dropped as the squad was pruned to 15.