India’s veteran pace bowler Mohammad Shami will miss Bengal’s next two matches in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season. Mohammed Shami has not been included in the Bengal squad for the next two matches against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh in the domestic red ball tournament.
Anustup Majumdar-led Bengal will face Karnataka in their next match starting on Wednesday, November 6. It will then face Madhya Pradesh starting on November 13. These are the last two matches in the first round of Ranji. The season starts on January 23 until the next stage.
Mohammad Shami’s return was further delayed
Mohammed Shami underwent surgery in London in February and was expected to return for the home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. However, his return was delayed due to knee swelling. He was also not included in the 18-man squad for the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
The 34-year-old bowler has not played competitive cricket since losing to India in the ODI World Cup final last November. He was all set to make a comeback in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 this week. Shami was scheduled to play for Bengal against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh in the fourth and fifth rounds respectively.
Bengal squad for fourth and fifth rounds of Ranji Trophy 2024-25:
Anustup Majumdar, Wriddhiman Saha, Sudip Chatterjee, Sudip Kr Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Writtick Chatterjee, Avilin Ghosh, Shuvam Dey, Shakir Habib Gandhi, Pradipta Pramanik, Aamir Gani, Ishan Porel, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Movzar Kaishav, .
Bengal Coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla On Mohammed Shami
Last week, it was reported that Mohammad Shami could be included in India’s squad for the Sarhad-Gavaskar Trophy if he proves himself in the Ranji Trophy. However, the fast bowler is unlikely to be a part of the squad for the upcoming tour of Australia as he has been dropped from the Ranji Trophy squad.
“We hope Shami will join us for the games against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh,” Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla told the Indian Express last week.
“He is a valuable player for India and his services will be required for the Australia series. He recently mentioned how keen he is to play a few Ranji games for Bengal before heading to Australia. Good performances in the Ranji Trophy will be good for him ahead of the Australia tour and a big boost for us; Four of our key players are playing for India and India A,” Shukla said.
The 34-year-old pacer has been ruled out of tournaments including IPL 2024 and ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which India won in June. Shami scored 16 goals in four matches during the BGT 2018-19 series. He had to miss the next tour in 2020-21 after getting injured in the first Test.
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