Tamil Nadu have been dealt with a huge blow ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. Their ace batsman Murali Vijay has opted out of the entire 2020-21 domestic season and will accordingly miss the upcoming T20 tournament. Vijay has informed the same to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) about his unavailability. He was earlier named in the probable squad for the competition.

He last played for his State team in 2019 during the Ranji Trophy against Karnataka in Dindigul. Murali Vijay last took the field during the 13th edition of the Indian Premier league (IPL) for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He has been replaced by L Suryapprakash in the Tamil Nadu squad.

“He informed us that he would be skipping the upcoming season for personal reasons. He did not mention anything further,” a TNCA official told Times of India while also admitting that this is a huge blow for the team ahead of the T20 tournament.

“It is a very big blow for us ahead of the season because he is an experienced campaigner and brings solidity at the top. But his absence gives other players an opportunity to make an impact for the state side,” the official further added.

K Vignesh tested positive for COVID-19

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu will also miss their pace bowler K Vignesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy. He has been tested positive for COVID-19. All the members of the camp are being tested once in three days and the only positive case has led to Tamil Nadu’s practice matches getting cancelled. The final squad is set to be announced on Monday.

“He is the only player to have tested positive. All players and support staff are being tested once in three days. The quarantine restrictions mean that he will certainly miss the tournament. Once we got a positive Covid-19 result (K Vignesh), we decided to cancel the matches. We will commence the practice matches once the squad is announced on Monday,” the official said.