While the Indian team is hoping to see the senior pacer Mohammed Shami in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, the 34-year-old fast bowler has been named in the Bengal squad for the upcoming domestic one-day cricket tournament, the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. 

Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar included in the Bengal squad

The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 will run between December 21, 2024, and January 18, 2025. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has announced the 20-member Bengal squad for the upcoming List A tournament. Indian pacers Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar have been included in the one-day squad.

Mohammed Shami is in good touch

After missing the game for almost a year since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Final due to an ankle injury and recovery from surgery, Shami just returned to the game last month. The right-arm fast bowler started with a Ranji Trophy match, where he claimed seven wickets against Madhya Pradesh (4/54 and 3/102) and also scored crucial 37 runs during his team’s second innings.  

After the first-class match, Shami played nine matches in the domestic T20 tournament, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25. Before their SMAT elimination from the quarter-finals, the right-arm fast bowler picked up 11 wickets. In the preliminary quarter-final, the right-handed lower-order batter scored his highest T20 score, 32 not out off 17 balls, with the help of three fours and two sixes, and Bengal won that match by only three runs. 

While Shami is proving his match fitness, the selectors are not in a mood to rush on him. His presence in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy is still possible, but there is no certain news on it. As the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is also near, the selectors’ slow and steady approach for Shami is quite justifiable.

Bengal’s complete squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25

Sudip Kumar Gharami (Captain), Mohammad Shami, Anustup Majumdar, Abhishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Karan Lal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Ranjot Singh Khaira, Pradipta Pramanik, Kaushik Maity, Vikas Singh (senior), Mukesh Kumar, Saksham Chaudhary, Rohit Kumar, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh and Kanishk Seth