Mohammed Shami named in Bengal's squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy, set to miss fourth BGT 2024-25 test

Mohammed Shami last played for India in the World Cup 2023.

Amid speculations of his return to the test side and potential participation in the rest of the BGT 2024-25 series, senior India pacer Mohammed Shami will not fly to Australia yet as he’s been named in Bengal’s squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy.

While he’s made his comeback to domestic cricket, playing one Ranji Trophy match and nine Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches, it has been reported that the team management, national selectors, and the BCCI feel that T20 matches are “no indicators of readiness for gruelling Test cricket, particularly in Australia,” said Cricbuzz.

The physical demands of bowling for multiple days in a test match pose a serious risk of injury. In fact, Cricbuzz has reported that “there has been no discussion among the key stakeholders about sending Shami to Australia at this stage.”

The Vijay Hazare Trophy will start on December 21, while the fourth IND vs AUS test at the MCG is slated to kick off on December 26.

Will Mohammed Shami take part in the test series against Australia?

Shami still needs to prove his fitness for test cricket and he could do that by playing a few games in Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is a 50-over domestic competition. If Shami manages to prove full fitness and readiness for test cricket, he might be considered for the fifth test against Australia at the SCG, starting on January 3. However, the chances of that also seem bleak at the moment.

Shami has been out of international cricket since last year’s ODI World Cup due to an ankle injury, for which he underwent surgery in February. He played one Ranji Trophy match in which he claimed seven wickets. Then, in nine SMAT matches, Shami took 11 wickets at an economy of 7.85 but got some swelling in his knee during the competition.

Bengal’s squad also includes India pacer Mukesh Kumar, who was ignored for the BGT.

Bengal’s squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy: Sudip Kumar Gharami (capt), Mohammed Shami, Anustup Majumdar, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Karan Lal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Ranjot Singh Khaira, Pradipta Pramanik, Kaushik Maity, Vikas Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Saksham Chaudhary, Rohit Kumar, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth

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