Ace Indian seamer Mohammed Shami’s return date to competitive cricket takes a back seat after the Bengal seamer failed to make the cut in the Ranji Trophy squad for Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh games.
Shami declared himself 100% match-fit last month, giving hopes of breaking into the Test squad for the marquee Border-Gavaskar series; however, the selectors decided against picking him, with the Indian captain admitting that taking undercooked Shami Down Under would do no good to the travelling side.
“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,” Shami said during a promotional event last month.
Shami had suffered an ankle injury during the home ODI World Cup last year, and was India’s top wicket-taker with 24 scalps in seven contested matches though he played with injury till the final. Picked for South Africa Tests later, Shami withdrew his name, with doctors not clearing him for on-field return.
The right-arm seamer underwent ankle surgery earlier this year in London and has been recovering and training at the NCA in Bengaluru since. Having missed all cricket action since November last year, Shami was in line for a comeback ahead of the Australia series. But before the selectors could rope him into the Test squad for New Zealand Tests, he suffered a setback in his recovery, delaying his return to competitive cricket.
The selectors, team management and even the fans kept their fingers crossed over Shami’s fitness; however, upon reviewing his recovery pace, the selectors decided against naming him in the 18-man squad for the BGT.
No Shami for Bengal
Shami was expected to start for Bengal in their next two Ranji Trophy fixtures, against Karnataka on November 6 and Madhya Pradesh on November 13. But his absence from the squad indicates that the India bowler hasn’t completely recovered from his injury and might take longer to get back onto the field.
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah will lead India’s pace attack in his absence, which consists of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Harshit Rana, with Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed picked as reserves.
Bengal Ranji squad against Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh –
Anustup Majumdar (captain), 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 and Rishav Vivek
