Shami to return against Madhya Pradesh in Ranji Trophy

Kolkata: Indian pacer Mohammed Shami will make his much-anticipated return to competitive cricket after a hiatus of nearly a year for Bengal in their Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh at Indore from Wednesday, announced the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

Shami, who has been out of action since the 2023 World Cup final 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 Board of Control for Cricket in India 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 his 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.

Shami had played a big role in India's historic 2-1 Test series victory in 2018-19 against Australia, claiming 16 wickets at an average of 26.18.

Instead, Shami focused on regaining optimum fitness at the National Cricket Academy and he also bowled at full tilt at nets while India bowling coach Morne Morkel kept a close watch.

The nearly one-hour session took place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru after India lost the first Test to New Zealand last month. Later, Shami said during a promotional event that he was feeling "100 per cent" about his fitness and bowling levels.

Shami had a fantastic ODI World Cup last year. The 34-year-old was the top wicket-taker in the ICC showpiece with 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.70.