Mohammed Shami finds road to return to India Test squad

Star pacer Mohammed Shami may have narrowly missed travelling to the United Kingdom for the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, but the cricketer is expected to be back in action very soon. Shami has been included in Bengal's list of probables for the upcoming domestic season. If Shami is picked to play, he will be Bengal's representative in East Zone at the Duleep Trophy 2025, the season-opening tournament that will be played in zonal format this time round.

An impressive run in this tournament may help Shami find his place back in the Indian Test set-up, which is currently relying heavily on the services of Jasprit Bumrah and needs someone who can provide equal amount of prowess. The reason behind his non-selection ahead of the England tour was his inability to bowl long spells, something which was also excused by chief selector Ajit Agarkar at the time of squad announcement.

“The medical guys have told us that he has been ruled out of this series. He has been trying to be fit for the series, but he had a setback over the last week, and he has had some MRIs done. I don't think he was going to be able to play five tests. We were hoping he would be available for at least some part of the series, but if he is not fit at the moment, it will be very difficult to keep waiting. It is unfortunate. We always want to pick a bowler like him,” Agarkar had explained.

All of Bengal's international stars named in probables

Not just Shami, but his India and state teammates Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Shahbaz Ahmed, and captain Abhimanyu Easwaran have also found a place in the list of probable players. In addition to this, Delhi Capitals' star Abishek Porel will also be confident of representing Bengal with a strong set of wicketkeeping and batting in the upcoming domestic season.

The Duleep Trophy is slated to commence on August 28 and East Zone will be playing the season opener, also the first quarter-final, against North Zone at the newly-inaugurated BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru. If East Zone manage to bag a win, or even a first-innings' lead in a drawn game, they will be playing the semi-finals at the same venue. The grand finale will also be played at the very ground, marking it the first major domestic tournament for the BCCI's training and rehabilitation facility.