Bengal still have a remote possibility of making the Ranji Trophy knockouts, but that’s not what the team wishes to think about. The loss to Haryana has virtually ended Bengal’s campaign in the group phase itself and to qualify for the knockouts, they need something close to a miracle.
Bengal should first beat Punjab in their final Group C clash beginning at Eden Gardens on Thursday by an innings or 10 wickets to acquire all seven points. Also, Kerala — second-placed in the group — need to lose to bottom-placed Bihar while Karnataka have to be beaten by the already-qualified Haryana in another game.
That too isn’t all.
Both Kerala and Karnataka have to lose by heavymargins. Expecting all of these to happen is certainly a little too much.
“We just don’t want to think of what can happen and all such stuff. We just want to win this last match of ours against Punjab and finish on a good note,” head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla rightly said.
More than possibilities, the focus is also on giving Wriddhiman Saha a fitting farewell. The Punjab game is set to be Wriddhi’s Bengal swansong.
The Punjab game may also go on to be Shukla’s last as coach. The buzz is Shukla may assume a bigger role in Bengal cricket by the start of the 2025-26 season. Some Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) insiders even claimed that he may get involved in an administrative capacity.
No matter how the future unfolds, both Wriddhi and Shukla certainly want to ensure Bengal’s current Ranji campaign ends on a high.
For Wriddhi, his career comes a full circle as it was at the Eden in November2007 where he made his first-class debut, against the VVS Laxman-led Hyderabad, hitting an unbeaten 111.
Deep down, he might as well feel differently when he takes the field against Punjab. But just as he has been right through his career, the 40-year-old preferred to keep it normal instead of getting swayed by emotions.
“I take this game just as another contest. The mindset will be the same as it has been in any other game,” Wriddhi said with a straight face after Wednesday’s training session at the Eden.
Unfortunately for Wriddhi, his parents won’t be able to watch him play as his mother is unwell.
Talking about Bengal’s expected XI in this clash, pace spearhead Mukesh Kumarhas been ruled out due to stiffness in his neck. Mukesh couldn’t bowl at Wednesday’s practice too.
Sumit Mohanta from Balurghat is likely to make his Ranji debut. He may come in place of Rohit Kumar, who was pedestrian in the previous game against Haryana in pace-friendly conditions at Kalyani. MohammedKaif could be the third pacer along with the in-form Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal.
Alongside Mohanta, teenager Vishal Bhati also looks set for a first-classdebut. Bhati, impressive for Bengal U-19 in the Cooch Behar Trophy, will most likely replace left-arm spinner Pradipta Pramanik.
Bengal are looking to include an extra batsman in the XI as well in the form of Sumanta Gupta.
