Mohammed Shami OUT of India vs New Zealand Test; West Bengal Ranji Trophy squad makes position clear

India's premier fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the first two games of Bengal in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Tuesday (October 8) announced the 19-member squad for the first two games in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25.

Wriddhiman Saha, who made his debut for Bengal in 2007, is making a return to his state team after stepping away in 2022 following a fallout with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). After leaving Bengal, Saha took up the dual role of mentor and player with Tripura.

Mohammed Shami ruled out of Bengal's first two Ranji Trophy 2024-25 matches

Now, he's ready to represent Bengal once again, adding to the team's wealth of experience for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25. On the other hand, there were reports that Mohammed Shami will play at least one Ranji game to prove his fitness for the Team India comeback.

But the Indian pacer will have to wait further to return to action. According to the PTI, Mohammed Shami is yet to regain full match fitness and has remained sidelined from the actions. Shami was ruled out of Bengal's squad for their first two fixtures in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25 due to the recovery.

The experienced fast bowler has been recovering from an ankle injury that required surgery earlier this year and has kept him sidelined since the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup final in India. Shami had recently shared his intention to use domestic cricket as a way to assess his fitness before staging his comeback to the international arena.

If I need to play domestic cricket to test my fitness, I will: Shami

However, he is still not fit to play in the first-class tournament, which means that he is highly unlikely to play in home Tests against New Zealand. Mohammed Shami stated: “If I need to play domestic cricket to test my fitness, I will. What matters most is being fully ready for whatever comes next, regardless of the opposition or format.”

After CAB announced the Ranji squad, the premier Indian pacer took to his social media handle to share some delightful images of himself while enjoying badminton at his home. Shami captioned the Instagram post by saying, "Sometimes, all you need is some time for yourself to rediscover inner peace and happiness."

Here's the latest Instagram post of Mohammed Shami:

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A post shared by 𝕸𝖔𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖉 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖎 (@mdshami.11)

Meanwhile, Anustup Majumdar will captain the Bengal side in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024-25, where they will kick off their campaign against Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow on October 11, followed by a home game against Bihar, starting on October 18, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Bengal has been delivering consistent performances in recent Ranji seasons, and now they have high hopes for this season with the return of experienced players like Wriddhiman Saha and Sudip Chatterjee. Indian pacers Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar would be key for Bengal.

Bengal Squad for Ranji Trophy 2024-25:

Anustup Majumdar (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Gharami, Sudip Chatterjee, Wriddhiman Saha, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shuvam Dey, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Suraj Jaiswal, Abishek Porel, Writtick Chatterjee, Avilin Ghosh, Mohammed Kaif, Pradipta Pramanik, Aamir Gani, Yudhajit Guha, Rohit Kumar and Rishav Vivek.