Shami's return to competitive cricket delayed

Mohammed Shami's return to competitive cricket has been further pushed back after the veteran pacer was not named in the Bengal squad for the next two rounds of the Ranji Trophy against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

Bengal will take on Karnataka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here from Wednesday, before travelling to Indore to take on MP from November 13.

Shami was expected to play the fixture against Karnataka to test his fitness in a real-match situation as he bowled at full tilt at nets after India's recent Test match against New Zealand here, though with bandage on his operated leg.

On that occasion, he was also monitored by India's bowling coach Morne Morkel. Later Shami said during a promotional event that he was feeling “100%” at nets.

“I had been bowling with half a run-up on and off since I can't put too much stress on my body. So, we decided that I would bowl properly, and I gave my 100%.

“It felt great, and the results are good. Hopefully, I'll be back on track soon,” he had said.

India skipper Rohit Sharma had also opined against taking an undercooked Shami to Australia.

“We don't want to bring undercooked Shami to Australia. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” Rohit had said in Bengaluru recently.

Other than Shami, Bengal will also miss the services of prolific opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, wicketkeeper batter Abhishek Porel and pacer Mukesh Kumar, who are with India A squad in Australia.

Pacer Akash Deep, who was part of the Indian team for the recent series against New Zealand, was also not named in the state squad.

However, veteran wicketkeeper batter Wriddhiman Saha, who has announced his retirement from cricket after the ongoing domestic season, has been named for the two matches.