Table of Contents
The Duleep Trophy 2026/2027 marked the beginning of the Indian domestic season, and it is now coming to an end, with the two finalists having been confirmed, East Zone taking on South Zone. Ahead of the final, the Bengal pacer Mohammed Shami has been felicitated by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and Ishan Kishan as he will play his 100th first-class match.
East Zone qualified for the final under the leadership of Ishan Kishan after 14 years. They will look to win their third trophy with Mohammed Shami, who has been out of the India National Cricket Team, and will look to put pressure on the selectors with his performance in the final of the tournament. He has been in good form, but the selectors have ignored him.
CAB felicitates Mohammed Shami
Ahead of the final match, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday 6th September, the CAB treasurer Sanjay Das, along with skipper Ishan Kishan and vice-captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, felicitated the veteran pacer. A jersey named Shami with 100th written on the back was presented to the Indian pacer, as everyone present congratulated him on the milestone.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE 🚨
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) September 5, 2026
Md Shami being felicitated by East Zone captain Ishan Kishan and teammates alongwith CAB treasurer Sanjay Das as he is set to play his 100th first class match during the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone starting from Sunday at MA Chidambaram stadium.… pic.twitter.com/PoIswY9ccV
The 36-year-old pacer has been out of the India National Cricket Team since winning the Champions Trophy 2025. He was the joint-leading wicket-taker for the Men in Blue with 9 wickets and helped India to win the trophy; after that, he has suffered multiple injuries and has been out of the national team despite good performances in IPL and domestic formats.
Mohammed Shami's recent and domestic form
Shami has picked 382 wickets, including 15 five-wicket hauls, in his 99 FC matches. He picked 5 wickets combined for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026 semifinals against the Central Zone. In the first innings, he picked two wickets, and in the second, three, where he picked crucial wicket of Aryan Juyal, who scored 46 runs for the side in the first innings.
He had a brilliant domestic season for Bengal, picking 37 wickets in the Ranji Trophy finished as the second-highest wicket-taker for the side. He has picked 283 wickets in 149 List A matches and 238 wickets in 196 T20 games. Overall, the pacer has 900 domestic wickets under his belt, which is also a milestone he achieved during the Duleep Trophy.
Will Mohammed Shami make a comeback to the Indian squad?
East Zone defeated the Central Zone in the semi-final by 4 wickets and qualified for the final. In the semi-final, Sooryavanshi smacked 92 runs in the first innings and 40 in the second innings and displayed his talent in the red-ball format as well. Apart from him, Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran scored a fifty in the first innings.
Ishan Kishan has also backed Mohammed Shami and wants him to return to the India side, as he has been performing well in the domestic format. Kishan also feels that the same hunger is still there within the pacer, which he saw during the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he finished as the leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets.
