Mohammed Shami selected in Bengal squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Mohammed Shami will represent Bengal next year Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophyas announced in the squad released by the cricket Association of Bengal on Monday.
After his extended injury layoff, the Indian fast bowler is gearing up for his second consecutive domestic competition, having recently taken part in Bengals Ranji Trophy Match against Madhya Pradesh in the fifth round.
During this game Shami showed his mettle by taking seven wickets in about 44 overs, including three top-order batsmen and four lower-order players. He also contributed significantly with the bat and scored 36 runs.
His form is a positive sign for Team India, which travels to Australia with a relatively inexperienced pace attack for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series that begins in Perth next week.
Shami's return to domestic cricket marked an important step on his comeback path. He was in sensational form during the 2023 ODI World Cup, becoming the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.70, including three five-wicket hauls.
His best performance came in the semi-final against New Zealand, where he took 7/57. However, after India's heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final, the team took revenge with a win in the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, although Shami was forced to watch from the sidelines due to injury.
With his return to domestic cricket, Shami will look to reclaim his place in the Indian team ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy and Indian Premier League in 2025.
If Shami were included in the squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, his experience would be invaluable, especially given India's inexperienced pace attack. The bowling line-up includes Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and promising talents like Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep.
Shami has an impressive Test record in Australia, with 31 wickets in eight matches at an average of 32.16, including best figures of 6/56.
Squad: Sudip Kumar Gharami (middle), Abishek Porel (week), Sudip Chatterjee, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karan Lal, Writtick Chatterjee, Ritwick Roy Chowdhury, Shakir Habib Gandhi (week), Ranjot Singh Khaira, Prayas Ray Barman, Agniv Pan (week), Pradipta Pramanik, Saksham Chaudhary, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Porel, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth and Soummyadip Mandal.