Ashok Dinda‘s playing days for Bengal appear to be over, with the veteran paceman being linked with Puducherry, Chhatisgarh and Goa for the 2020-21 domestic season. The 36-year old was dropped from the Bengal side after playing just one game in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy after a spat with Ranadeb Bose, the bowling coach.
“I have been associated with Bengal cricket for many years, and it has been my life, I have the best memories of my time with the team,” Dinda, one of Bengal’s most successful bowlers with 420 wickets in first-class cricket and 151 and 146 in List A and T20s respectively, said. “I will not stop loving Bengal, but I can’t play for them again. It’s finished. I wanted to end my career with Bengal, but I don’t have a choice now.”
ESPNcricinfo understands that while Dinda has been in talks with all three associations. He hasn’t yet applied to the Cricket Association of Bengal for an NOC; if and when he does, the association will let him go.
Dinda, who played 13 ODIs and nine T20Is between 2009 and 2013, played Bengal’s first game of the last Ranji season, in Thumba against Kerala, and picked up three wickets. Soon after that, he got into a scrap with Bose on the sidelines of a training session at home in Kolkata, following which he was left out. He was given a chance to apologise to Bose, but refused.
The pace spearhead’s absence didn’t seem to have hurt Bengal, who reached the Ranji Trophy final for the first time since 2006-07 – where they lost to Saurashtra – with the young pace trio of Akash Deep (35 wickets), Mukesh Kumar (32) and Ishan Porel (23) doing the job alongside spin frontman Shahbaz Ahmed, who picked up 35 wickets.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo