Manoj Tiwary has been retained as Bengal captain for their first two Ranji Tr­ophy matches against Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in Visakhapatnam and Kanpur, respectively, from January 5.

Bengal finished runn­ers-up under Tiwary’s captaincy last season but there is no guarantee that he will keep his position for the rest of the season. A call will be taken after the two matches.

Opener Shreyansh Ghosh, wicketkeeper-batter Sourav Paul along with pacers Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal and Suman Das have earned their maiden Ranji call-ups.

Tiwary had announced his retirement on August 3 but chose to reconsider the decision in less than a week and play one more Ranji season.

Injured all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed hasn’t been included.