Kolkata
India’s ace fast bowler Mohammed Shami will return to competitive cricket after almost a year when he plays for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore from Wednesday. Bengal Cricket Association made this announcement. Shami, who was away from competitive cricket since the World Cup 2023 final on November 19 last year, had an ankle injury for which he had to undergo surgery. He will aim to prove his match fitness in match situations after undergoing rigorous rehabilitation at the BCCI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Bengal Cricket Association secretary Naresh Ojha said in a statement, ‘The Indian cricket team and the Bengal Ranji Trophy will get competitive cricket with star fast bowler Mohammed Shami starting on Wednesday in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. Making a comeback will give strength.
Ojha said that Shami will lead the fast bowling attack of Bengal and the eyes of India’s think tank in Australia will also be fixed on his performance. India have relied on inexperienced fast bowlers like Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna to complement Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khalil Ahmed are also included in the reserve players but they too do not have much experience of playing Test cricket. Shami played a key role in India’s 2-1 Test series win in Australia in 2018-19, taking 16 wickets at an average of 26.18.
