New Delhi: Indian pacer Mohammed Shami wasn’t included in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy squad for the upcoming Elite Group C matches against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) named a 16-member squad for these two matches with veteran player Anustup Majumdar named as the captain.
Shami was reportedly said to play a couple of Ranji Trophy matches to decide his selection for the Indian team in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting on November 22. However, the Indian speedster wasn’t named in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad with the selectors picking up Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana in the fast bowling department.
The exclusion from Ranji Trophy will further delay the return of Shami to competitive cricket after the 34-year-old played in the 2023 World Cup final against Australia on November 19, 2023. Bengal men’s cricket team was scheduled to play against Karnataka (November 6-9) in Bengaluru followed by the match against Madhya Pradesh (November 13-16) in a venue yet to be finalised.
Regular Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, pacer Mukesh Kumar, and wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel won’t be available for Bengal with the trio currently part of the India A squad for the two unofficial Test matches against Australia A in Melbourne.
Bengal squad against Karnataka & Madhya Pradesh: Anustup Majumdar (capt), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Sudip Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Writtick Chatterjee, Avilin Ghosh, Shuvam Dey, Shakir Habib Gandhi, Pradipta Pramanik, Aamir Gani, Ishan Porel, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Kaif, Rohit Kumar, Rishav Vivek.
Why Mohammed Shami wasn’t part of India’s squad for Australia Test series
Shami was seen practising at the nets after India’s defeat to New Zealand in the first Test match in Bengaluru. He said that he was 100% pain free as he recovered from a swelling, which was sustained during his rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru (NCA).
“I had been bowling with half a run-up on and off since I can’t put too much stress on my body. So, we decided that I would bowl properly, and I gave my 100%. It felt great, and the results are good. Hopefully, I’ll be back on track soon,” he had said during a promotional event.
The Indian player has been away from action due to an ankle injury for which he underwent a surgery earlier in February. Indian captain Rohit Sharma had mentioned that the team management isn’t in favour of taking an undercooked Shami to Australia.
