Mohammed Shami returns to Bengal squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy
Mohammed Shami has been included in the Bengal team's 20-member squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. This is part of his bid to prove his fitness for the ongoing Test series in Australia. After the second Test in Adelaide, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said "the door is very much open" for Shami to join the Australian squad, but also raised concerns over his fitness.
Shami's journey back to competitive cricket
Shami last represented India at the 2023 ODI World Cup and had undergone ankle surgery in February. He returned to competitive cricket with the Ranji Trophy in November, taking seven wickets against Madhya Pradesh. However, despite his performance, he suffered knee swelling during the tournament, impacting his readiness for Test cricket.
Bengal's squad and match schedule
The Bengal team, which will be led by Sudip Kumar Gharami, also features seamer Mukesh Kumar along with Shami. They will start their campaign against Delhi in Hyderabad on December 21. The players will leave Kolkata for Hyderabad on Wednesday. The squad also includes players like Anustup Majumdar, Abishek Porel (wicketkeeper), Sudip Chatterjee, Karan Lal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wicketkeeper), Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee among others.
A look at Bengal's VHT squad
Bengal squad: Sudip Kumar Gharami (capt), Mohammed Shami, Anustup Majumdar, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Karan Lal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Ranjot Singh Khaira, Pradipta Pramanik, Kaushik Maity, Vikas Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Saksham Chaudhary, Rohit Kumar, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth.
Shami did well in SMAT
Shami played all nine games for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking 11 wickets at an economy of 7.85. The star pacer also went past 200 wickets in T20s recently (201).
