Mohammed Shami to return to competitive cricket; to play for Bengal against M.P. in Ranji Trophy

Mohammed Shami set to return to competitive cricket for Bengal in Ranji Trophy match after injury hiatus. He will be playing his first Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh

Premier India pacer Mohammed Shami will make his much-anticipated return to competitive cricket after a hiatus of nearly a year through Bengal's Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore from Wednesday, announced Cricket Association of Bengal.

Shami, who has been out of action since the 2023 World Cup final on November 19 due to an ankle injury and the subsequent surgery, will aim to prove his fitness in a real match situation after undergoing intense rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

"In a major boost to Indian cricket and the Bengal Ranji Trophy team, star pacer Mohammad Shami will make a comeback into competitive cricket for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match in Indore starting on Wednesday," CAB secretary Naresh Ojha said in a statement.

Ojha said Shami will spearhead the Bengal pace bowling unit and the Indian thinktank in Australia too will closely follow Shami's outing.

India have opted for a largely untested pace attack for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with rookies such as Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna backing senior pros Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Khaleel Ahmed are in the reserves, but all of them come with minimal exposure to Test cricket.

There was intense speculation surrounding Shami's inclusion in the Indian squad to tour Australia but skipper Rohit Sharma struck down such thoughts saying he did not prefer taking an "undercooked" senior pacer Down Under.