Shami to return to competitive cricket with Ranji Trophy clash against MP

India fast bowler Mohammed Shami is set to return to action after nearly a year after being named in Bengal’s squad for their next Ranji Trophy fixture starting November 13. Bengal will take on Madhya Pradesh in Indore, where Shami will play his first game since the ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad last year.

Shami’s fitness was being closely watched in the lead up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that starts on November 22 in Perth, although he was not named in the squad for the five-Test series. Just before that squad was picked, Shami had said that he was hoping to take the flight to Australia after playing one or two Ranji Trophy games for Bengal. He can, however, play only one red-ball game to prove his fitness as the Ranji Trophy season has been split into two and there is only one round left before the white-ball tournaments begin.

if he chooses to play more domestic games after the Ranji match starting Wednesday, he could feature in the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that begins on November 23.

Shami had been sidelined with an ankle injury and he underwent surgery on his right foot in March earlier this year. He has spent a better part of the last six months at Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy, to rehabilitate from surgery for an achilles tendon injury he played the ODI World Cup with, where he was the top wicket-taker with 24 scalps in seven matches at an average of 10.70, and then to recover from ankle swelling and a side strain.

If Shami proves his fitness in the upcoming four-day game, it’s possible that he could be added to India’s Test squad that currently features vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana as the fast bowlers, along with Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed in the reserves.

Shami had been on track for a return during the Bangladesh series at home in September, and was in line to be considered for the season-opening Duleep Trophy in September, until he suffered what Rohit Sharma later termed as a “recent setback” due to a swelling on his left knee that “put him back a little bit in his recovery.”

If Shami, one of the architects of India’s series win in Australia in 2018-19, is ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy altogether, it’s likely his comeback could be during the white-ball series at home against England in January in the run-up to next year’s Champions Trophy.