And the obvious question that has cropped up after the humiliating loss at home to Andhra Pradesh is — will there be a change at the helm? If Laxmi Ratan Shukla gets the sack, then who will take over the captaincy for the rest of the season.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) bosses have chosen to remain tight-lipped on the matter now, obviously waiting for the episode to blow over in the next few days. But the news in there is that a majority of the administration, as well as sections in the team itself, don’t want Shukla to continue as the skipper.

Instead, as top CAB insiders would have us believe, while Shukla’s removal from captaincy is very much on the cards, the contenders for the top job are — Ranadeb Bose and Manoj Tiwary — in that order.

Interestingly, young gun Tiwary had been the natural choice for the captaincy ever since coach Bharathi Arun took charge for the Ranji Trophy at the beginning of the season earlier this year.

But the CAB administration has other plans, fearing that the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) could come down in their new recruitment drive and freshly approach Ranadeb. That is exactly why despite suggestions to hand over the captaincy to Tiwary, the CAB might actually be tempted to make Ranadeb the new captain in the event of Shukla getting the sack.