Mohammed Shami's Test career over? Pacer picked in Bengal's SMAT squad as BGT return derailed

The premier India National Cricket Team pacer, Mohammed Shami, has been included in the Bengal squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024.

The 20-over domestic cricket competition is scheduled to begin on Saturday, November 23, and Mohammed Shami is set to be seen in action on the same day against the defending champions Punjab.

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Mohammed Shami picked in Bengal's SMAT squad after Ranji Trophy heroics

Mohammed Shami recently made his comeback to competitive cricket in the Ranji Trophy during the Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh match at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.

This was his first competitive cricket match since the ICC ODI World 2023 and he looked in good touch after bowling nearly 44 overs across two innings.

In the first innings, he bowled 19 overs and gave away 54 runs while picking up 4 wickets. In the second innings, he bowled 24.2 overs and bagged 3 wickets while giving away 102 runs.

There were hopes that he would be instantly sent to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, but that won't be the case. Before the Test series against Australia, he will feature in T20 cricket for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. This will be the first T20 appearance for Shami since the IPL 2023 final.

Mohammed Shami's younger brother, Mohammed Kaif, has also been picked by the CAB in the squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Mohammed Shami to fly to Australia after first 2 Tests

According to a PTI report, the pacer has been asked to play T20 cricket ahead of his India comeback because the BCCI wants to assess his fitness.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wants to ensure that the pacer is doing well and not facing any fitness issues after featuring in back-to-back matches. If things go right, Mohammed Shami will be sent to Australia after the first two Test matches.

Some other reports claimed that Mohammed Shami faced no concerns while playing the Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh and he was fully fit and pain-free.

Shami's return to the India Test squad will definitely be a confidence booster for the team, considering the experience he brings to the table. However, till he is unavailable, India will rely on others to get the job done against the Aussies.

Jasprit Bumrah will be spearheading the pace attack of India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and he will be supported by Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana. India also have Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, and Navdeep Saini in reserves with Yash Dayal also joining the team in Perth.

Bengal squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024

Sudip Gharami (capt), Mohammed Shami, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karan Lal, Writtick Chatterjee, Ritwick Roy Chowdhury, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ranjot Singh Khaira, Prayas Ray Barman, Agniv Pan (wk), Pradipta Pramanik, Saksham Chaudhary, Ishan Porel, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Soummyadip Mandal