Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay included in Tamil Nadu's Ranji Trophy squad

What's the story?

Indian stars Ravichandran Ashwin and Murali Vijay have been included in Tamil Nadu's squad for the Ranji Trophy opener.

Vijay has not been a part of the Indian Test squad since the conclusion of the Test series against Australia in March this year due to an injury.

Meanwhile, Ashwin has been an integral part of the Test squad but has not played in a single ODI or T20I since the ICC Champions Trophy. Ashwin is coming off a successful campaign with Worcestershire in England's County Division.

In case you didn't know...

India's most prestigious tournament begins on October 6. Tamil Nadu are placed in Group C along with Mumbai, Andhra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Baroda, and Tripura.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals that will start on December 7. The semi-finals of the tournament will begin on December 17 while the all-important final will be played from December 29.

Unlike last year, the tournament will be played in the home-away format once again. Tamil Nadu's first match is against Andhra Pradesh at the M Chidambaram Stadium.

The Details:

Ashwin and Vijay will look to give TNthe perfect start in the tournament. However, they will leave midway through the tournament as India take on Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series in November.

They will also miss the knockout stages as India travel to South Africa at the end of December.

Squad: Abhinav Mukund (c), Baba Indrajith, Murali Vijay, M. Kaushik Gandhi, N. Jagadeesan. Baba Aparajith, M. S. Washington Sundar, Rahil S. Shah, Krishnamoorthy Vignesh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lakshminarayanan Vignesh, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, V Lakshman, Rohith Ramkumar, Malolan Rangarajan.

Author's take:

Ashwin and Vijay's inclusion in Tamil Nadu's Ranji Trophy squad is a huge boost for the two-time champions.

Ashwin, who is coming off a successful stint in England, will look to continue his fine run of form with the bat and the ball.

Meanwhile, Vijay who has been out of action for seven months now will be itching to make a comeback and send a message to the selectors ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka.