Mohammed Shami was seen bowling at full throttle during Bengal vs mdhya Pradesh Ranji team giving boost to his chances of playing in the Border Gavaskar Trophy . The pacer finished the first innings with figures of 4/54 on Day 2 of the ongoing match in Indore to help Bengal secure a 61-run first-innings lead over the hosts..
Shami began with wicket of Madhya Pradesh captain Shubham Sharma, castling the right-handed batter for eight runs off an inside edge. In his 18th over Shami castled all-rounder Saransh Jain before removing Kumar Kartikeya and Khulwant Khejroliya off successive deliveries . The veteran seamer finished with figures of 19-4-54-4.
On Day 1 of the Ranji match on Wednesday, Shami conceded 34 runs in the first innings against Madhya Pradesh while bowling 10 overs.
Shami who was sidelined by knee injury following the 2023 ODI World Cup had been under rehab since then. The 34-year-old’s last first-class appearance came during the World Test Championship final against Australia at the Oval in June 2023. Taking to Instagram ahead of the Rnji match, Shami said that "360 days is a long time" away from the game and he looks to represent his state with "same passion and energy.
The Indian team is currently in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which is a five-match Test series. All eyes were on Shami to make his comeback on the tour but the pacer failed to completely recover from his injury just before the team was announced.
The opening game will be played at Perth's Optus Stadium, on November 22 and this Ranji game will be the ultimate litmus test for Shami to make a comeback to the national team.
The current Indian pace battery is spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah who will have the support of Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana. While the bowling department does lack experience and cutting edge, Shami's addition will fill the void.
Team India squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
