Mohammed Shami will miss Bengal’s next Ranji Trophy 2024-25 fixture against Kerala but will play Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. In a bid to prepare for the India vs Australia Test series, the fast bowler would get some crucial red-ball practice before the high-profile tour.
Shami, ready to bowl once again
Bengal’s head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla has confirmed to Indian Express that Shami will feature for the state in the coming days. “He is not available for this match (against Kerala), but we are hopeful that Shami will join us for games against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh,” Shukla said.
Shami provided an update on his injury a couple of days ago, claiming that he’s finally pain-free after more than a year. For the unaware, the pacer had injured his ankle last year but played through the pain in the ODI World Cup 2023. After India lost the final to Australia, Shami underwent surgery. He was expected to return for the Bangladesh Test series, but a setback during recovery delayed his return.
“He is a valuable player for India and the team his service will be required for the Australia series. Recently, he mentioned how keen he is about playing a couple of Ranji games for Bengal before travelling to Australia. Good outings in the Ranji Trophy will be good for him ahead of the Australia tour and will be a big boost for us our four key players are playing for India and India A,” Shukla added.
Shami to miss intrasquad matches
Now, he’ll play his first match in nearly a year on November 6, with the hopes of being match-fit for the India vs Australia 1st Test in Perth on November 22. However, Shami playing these two Ranji Trophy matches means that he’ll miss the intrasquad matches. While most of the Indian team is expected to leave for Australia around November 12, would only then leave after facing Madhya Pradesh (November 16-19).
Bengal’s Ranji Trophy squad vs Kerala
Sudip Chatterjee, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Anustup Majumdar (c), Abishek Porel (wk), Wriddhiman Saha, Shahbaz Ahmed, Writtick Chatterjee, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Kaif, Mukesh Kumar, Aamir Gani, Pradipta Pramanik, Yudhajit Guha, Shuvam Dey, Rishav Vivek, Avilin Ghosh, Rohit Kumar.
