India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been left out of Bengal’s squad for the opening match of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. The match will be taking place against Delhi in Hyderabad but Shami won’t be a part of it.
It is a big blow to Bengal but Mohammed Shami has just made a comeback from his surgery and needs proper rest to be fully fit. The fast bowler recently played the whole season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he played a key role in Bengal’s road to the quarter-finals.
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Mohammed Shami left out of Bengal’s Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 opener
Mohammed Shami has been rested for Bengal’s first match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a domestic 50-over competition in India. The news was confirmed by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), reported PTI. Currently, he is recovering in BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Shami played all of Bengal’s games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy recently and also played one Ranji Trophy game prior to it. According to the reports, the constant swelling in his knee remains a problem for the star India quick.
The swelling first took place during his rehabilitation that delayed his comeback into the Indian team for the Test series against New Zealand. It even troubled him during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well.
In the only Ranji Trophy game this season, Mohammed Shami helped Bengal clinch a thriller over Madhya Pradesh with seven wickets in the match. He also bowled over 40 overs across both the innings.
In the SMAT 2024, Shami picked up 11 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 25.36 and an economy rate of 7.85. He even showed his batting brilliance in the pre-quarterfinal against Chandigarh and helped Bengal clinch a thrilling win.
Mohammed Shami’s absence affects India
Mohammed Shami’s absence in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy has affected India’s bowling. He is one of the most experienced bowlers for India on Australian soil alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
Shami has also been one of the topmost bowlers in the world over the last decade. India have made constant changes in their bowling combination and have been troubled with the inexperience of the line-up.
While he couldn’t make it to the initial squad, there was news that Shami might make it to the squad for the final two Tests. Even India’s captain Rohit Sharma didn’t rule out that possibility.
However, Rohit wasn’t pleased with the NCA when a question regarding Shami was asked to him during the press conference after the third Test at Brisbane. He also confirmed that India won’t risk playing the fast bowler unless he is fully fit.
“I think it’s high time somebody from NCA talks about him, where he is rehabbing. Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update.”
Bengal squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25
Bengal will be led by Sudip Kumar Gharami in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Mukesh Kumar, who was released after before the fourth Test in Melbourne, is also a part of this squad.
Sudip Kumar Gharami (C), 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.