Mohammed Shami is fully prepared to play for Bengal in the next match of Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘C’

After being left out of India’s team for the five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, fast bowler Mohammed Shami is scheduled to play for Bengal in their next Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘C’ match, ending any rumors about his potential return.

On Wednesday, Bengal will play Madhya Pradesh in Indore.

According to TOI, physio Nitin Patel, who has accompanied the cricket player from Uttar Pradesh and will be based in Indore for the next four days, would be constantly monitoring the 34-year-old pacer’s activities.

Prior to India’s BGT squad announcement, Shami’s fitness state was keenly watched, but skipper Rohit Sharma’s comment that “we don’t want to take an undercooked Shami to Australia” suggested that the team management was not entirely confident in the fast bowler’s ability to recover for Test matches.

However, after participating in a few Ranji matches, Shami was certain he could board the plane to Australia. However, as the Ranji Trophy season will be split into two halves, he can only play one red-ball match to demonstrate his health.

To support Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, India selected a relatively untested pace attack in Shami’s absence, which included Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Prasidh Krishna. The reserves are Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, and Mukesh Kumar.

According to the Bengal team’s administration, Shami is not subject to any rules or limitations from the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI). Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla told TOI from Indore, “We are happy to have him back.” “Shami was bowling at full throttle at the nets for some time and it will be good to see how he fares in a competitive match now.”

Following the team’s Ranji Trophy encounter against Karnataka last week, Shami caught up with his Bengal teammates in Bengaluru. “He was keen to make a comeback at that time, saying that he was feeling fine,” Shukla said.

Shami’s ankle ailment has kept him out of action for a year. The National Cricket Academy (NCA), which had become practically his second home for the past six months as he recovered from surgery in February for an Achilles tendon injury that he carried into last year’s ODI World Cup, granted him the required clearance on Monday night, allowing him to make a late entry even though his name was not on the original Bengal squad list.

With 24 wickets in seven games, he finished as the World Cup’s highest wicket-taker despite not being at his best.

After the first Test match between India and New Zealand ended, Shami said last month that he was “100 per cent pain-free” after bowling with full run-up at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. His belief that “it’s better that I play one or two domestic matches before going to Australia” has persisted throughout his career.

Test cricket has been absolutely amazing, and it was expected that Shami would be able to get back in time for the red ball,” Ponting said.

“Every player that plays against him talks about how tough and challenging he is. Then, considering that the first two Test matches are in Adelaide and Perth, he would be ideal for bowling under such circumstances. That, in my opinion, is the one significant weakness in India’s defenses,” Ponting said.

whether Shami does well for Bengal, it is unclear whether he will be able to board the trip to Australia.