Laxmi Ratan Shukla
This Bengal all-rounder and Minister of State for sports, youth affairs and public works department, has always been a colourful character, and he has turned heads on his comeback match recently. If the sight of a State Minister playing competitive cricket at the highest level was an oddity, it was even more to see that Minister blasting a 19-ball 50, with three sixes that landed in far parts of the stadium.
The 35-year-old missed last season with an injury, and announced his retirement in December 2015, saying that he lacked the motivation that had pushed him for two decades. Thw former international cricket then took the plunge into politics, also winning in the Assembly elections.
In the P Sen Trophy semi-final, the last CAB tournament of the season, Minister Shukla padded up again, and not with the intention to just make up the numbers. He took 1 wicket in 6 overs, but got into beast mode with the bat in hand. With Wriddhiman Saha at the other end also launching into a scathing attack, the two batsmen brought up the target of 198 in 13 overs, at an unbelievable strike rate of 14.9 runs per over.
Like any good minister, however, Shukla cited previously scheduled engagements as the reason why he would not play in the final.
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