India pacer Mohammed Shami is on a comeback trail after being sidelined for more than a year due to injury. He made an impressive return to red-ball cricket with a seven-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh to help Bengal to a thrilling 11-run win.
At the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), Shami, playing his first white-ball tournament after last year's 50-over World Cup, picked up 3/21 in Bengal's eight-wicket win over Hyderabad. However, in the match against Mizoram, Shami leaked 46 runs in four overs.
Excellent comeback 💥@MdShami11 bowled an impressive spell of 4/54 on his comeback, playing for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in the #RanjiTrophy match in Indore 👌👌
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 14, 2024
Watch 📽️ highlights of his spell in the first innings 🔽@IDFCFIRSTBank
Scorecard: https://t.co/54IeDz9fWu pic.twitter.com/sxKktrQJbL
There have been speculations since his return to cricket that Shami might be considered for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and that the selectors are keeping a close eye on his match-fitness and performance to ease him into the Indian squad Down Under.
However, conflicting reports are emerging on the matter. A Times of India report said that the BCCI medical team has set a tentative 10-day deadline to conclude whether Shami is ready for international cricket without being dependent on the board's medical team. BCCI's head of sports science Nitin Patel and National Cricket Academy trainer Nishant Bordoloi are monitoring his training and recovery routine, the report said, and added the BCCI source as saying that Shami's weight gain has been an issue.
Mohammed Shami is back, and how! 😍💥
— Sports18 (@Sports18) November 27, 2024
Keep watching the #IDFCFirstBankSyedMushtaqAliTrophy LIVE on #JioCinema and #Sports18Khel! 👈#JioCinemaSports #SMAT pic.twitter.com/E7I1A30FRh
The TOI report also quoted the source as saying that if Shami passes the SMAT challenge, he might be sent to Australia to train with the Indian team before a decision is taken on drafting him into the playing XI in the later part of the series.
However, a Hindustan Times report said that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is not planning to send Shami to Australia anytime soon. HT quoted a BCCI source as saying that there has been no discussion yet about sending the pacer to Australia, since the bowlers in the squad have done well in the first Test at Perth.
ALSO READ: 'Save some wisdom for future': Shami slams Manjrekar over IPL auction remarks
The veteran seamer was not retained by his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans and was released ahead of the mega auction. GT also did not exercise the Right to Match option in the auction, and Shami was, eventually, bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 10 crore.
