Star India pacer Mohammed Shami would lead Bengal's bowling attack in the forthcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy following his outstanding return to competitive cricket during the last round of Ranji Trophy matches.
On Monday, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) also announced Sudip Kr Gharami as the young batter who would be leading Bengal for the tournament. This means, there are very few chances of Shami dashing off to Australia to be part Indian squad at least for the first couple of matches.
Shami had made a return to cricket by memorable means-an ankle injury and surgery after the 2023 ODI World Cup. They now claimed seven wickets to push Bengal into first-innings lead against Madhya Pradesh at Holkar Stadium, Indore. Shami played a crucial role in helping India reach the final of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup in India.
After struggling to assert himself in the first innings on his return, the 34-year-old seamer, playing his first Ranji Trophy match since 2018, showed his class and experience, finishing as Bengal’s standout bowler with figures of 19-4-54-4 in the second essay. “Shami, who bagged seven wickets in the just-concluded Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh, will be a huge boost to Bengal’s chances in the T20 tournament,” the CAB said in its social media post.
In the meantime, the BCCI would not be sending Mohammed Shami to Australia anytime soon for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting on November 22 in Perth, followed by matches in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney till January 7, 2025. Shami would have proved a big asset for the Indian bowling attack in Australia, which will be led by Jasprit Bumrah.
Shami was India's shining star as they achieved their first-ever Test series win in Australia back in 2018/19, claiming 16 wickets in four matches with an average of 26.18.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20, Bengal are in Group A and will start off against Punjab at Rajkot on Saturday. Other teams in the group include Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Meghalaya.
Bengal team for Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy: Sudip Kr Gharami (c), Mohammed Shami, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karan Lal, Writtick Chatterjee, Ritwick Roy Chowdhury, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ranjot Singh Khaira, Prayas Ray Barman, Agniv Pant (wk), Pradipta Pramanik, Saksham Chaudhary, Ishan Porel, Md Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Soummyadip Mandal.
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