India fast bowlerMohammed Shami is returning to competitive cricket after almost a year. He has been named in Bengal’s squad for their upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh. The game, starting November 13th in Indore, will be Shami’s first since the ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad last year.
Shami has been recovering from an ankle injury and subsequent surgery on his right foot in March. He has spent a significant portion of his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
This Ranji match is crucial for Shami to prove his fitness ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Though not initially selected for the five-Test series starting November 22nd, he had previously expressed hopes of joining the team after playing domestic cricket.
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This might be his only opportunity as the current Ranji Trophy season only has one round remaining before the limited-overs matches begin.
Shami’s potential return is timely for India, as their Test squad currently includes Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana as fast bowlers. Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Khaleel Ahmed are on standby.
Shami’s return to the national team was anticipated during the Bangladesh series in September and the Duleep Trophy. However, India captain Rohit Sharma revealed that Shami suffered a “setback” due to swelling in his left knee which delayed his recovery.
How much cricket did Shami miss for India?
Since playing his last match at the ODI World Cup in November 2023, Shami has not entered the field for the national team or in domestic cricket. In all, if the seamer was included in every lineup that India featured in, Shami missed 10 Test matches, 6 ODIs and 28 T20Is including the T20 World Cup triumph in the USA and West Indies.
Complete list of matches missed:
Australia tour of India: 5 T20Is
India tour of South Africa: 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is
England tour of India: 5 Tests
Bangladesh tour of India: 2 Tests
New Zealand tour of India: 3 Tests
Afghanistan tour of India: 3 T20Is
India tour of Sri Lanka: 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is
T20 World Cup: 9 T20Is
India tour of Zimbabwe: 5 T20I
