CAB fumes at Shahbaz Ahmed over ignored phone calls; all-rounder to miss entire Ranji season - Reports

Indian all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed, who gained headlines for his wonderful performance for the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, is reported to have not picked calls from the Cricket Association of Bengal. This includes the board president, his coaching staff, and teammates, as per Sportskeeda. Nobody is sure why Shahbaz took this sudden step.

Shahbaz Ahmed was carrying a lateral meniscus tear and played an innings of 100 runs from 118 balls in the quarterfinal of the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Haryana. The fixture which was held on December 11, which was Shahbaz’s last match for Bengal, and since then has not represented his state. Ahmed went to the National Cricket Academy for treatment during which things between him and his state turned bizarre.

Shahbaz Ahmed had to join the Bengal team camp for the third or the fourth match of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24. However, his sudden visit to the NCA has become a reason for worry for the Cricket Association of Bengal. This forced CAB to write about the same to the NCA, but their report did not satisfy CAB.

Shahbaz Ahmed likely to miss Ranji Trophy 2023-24 for Bengal

A lateral meniscus tear takes a total of 7 to 8 weeks to recover, but as per the Cricket Association of Bengal president Shahbaz Ahmed is taking more time than that. Snehasish Ganguly while speaking to Sportskeeda revealed that he called Shahbaz, but the cricketer didn’t answer his call. Ganguly further stated that Shahbaz is what he is because of Bengal and he shall be available for the team whenever they need him.

Snehasish Ganguly said, “I don’t know what’s up with him. I had called him but he didn’t respond. I have also written back to NCA with some queries against its report. We are also cricketers and we know what injury takes how much time to heal. Shahbaz is what he is because of Bengal and he should also be there when Bengal need him.”

Bengal’s assistant coach Sourasish Lahiri also gave up the same message against Shahbaz Ahmed and called the whole scenario very unfortunate. He said, “It is really unfortunate. None of us know anything about him. The president had phoned him and he didn’t answer even that call. I don’t know why he is doing this.”

Shahbaz Ahmed, who proved to be very useful for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, was traded to Sunrishers Hyderabad ahead of the 2024 edition of the cash-rich league. Shahbaz is expected to miss the remaining league games of the Ranji Trophy, wherein his team is currently placed in the 5th spot in Group B with 5 points.

Shahbaz Ahmed has played a total of 3 ODIs and 2 T20Is for India, wherein he has been able to pick 5 wickets. Ahmed was not able to showcase his talent for India and hence is currently excluded from the team. However, Shahbaz Ahmed has been active on social wherein his last post was six days ago. Ahmed posted a video in which he can be seen bowling in the nets. Ahmed captioned the post, “One step at a time.”