The recent fixture in the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 has been a huge relief for the Indian selection committee, having seen their premier pace, bowler, Mohammad Shami, running in with hunger and rhythm and bowling more than 40 overs across three days in both innings at the Holkar Stadium in Indore against Madhya Pradesh.
Mohammad Shami made a ginger start in proceeding with the ball late on the opening day of the encounter, as he perhaps was struggling a little thinking about the injury. But once his body got hot, he found the fine touch and displayed incredible power and skill, making the batters play multiple false shots on successive occasions.
Since the final of the 50-over World Cup in 2023 in India, there have been multiple reports of the recovery road of the Bengal pacer, who missed the South Africa tour last Christmas at the last moment before the successful surgery on his right Achilles tendon kept him away from the five-match red-ball series at home against England, followed by the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
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There was the probability of him returning to the national side through the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America, but that didn’t happen. He was supposed to be part of the five home Tests against New Zealand and Bangladesh. Still, another knee injury, confirmed by the Indian captain Rohit Sharma, kept Mohammad Shami away from the action.
Four weeks later, he missed the selection for the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 before making the first appearance for Bengal in first-class cricket since 2018.
Sourav Ganguly eliminates the need to play SMAT 2024-25 for Mohammad Shami
The 34-year-old eliminated all the doubts by claiming a magical figure of 4/54 in 19 overs in the first innings to help the side gain a 61-run lead. The videos on social media displayed the known rhythm and pace of the bowler, as he was keenly observed by the head of the Centre of Excellence’s medical panel, Nitin Patel, who was advised to send the reports regarding the pacer’s bowling to the national selectors and the team management.
Mohammad Shami has enjoyed the conditions down under, having picked up 31 Test wickets in eight clashes at an average of 32.16 and a strike rate of 54.2 with the help of a couple of five-wicket hauls.
In a recent interaction with Revsportz, the former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, noted that there would be no need for the pacer to feature in the SMAT 2024-25 to prove his fitness.
“Will send Mohammad Shami straight away. He doesn’t need to play the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Even if he misses the Perth Test and keeps bowling, he should be on the flight. He has bowled a lot of overs in this Ranji Trophy fixture (for Bengal against Uttar Pradesh). He should be on the next flight to Australia.” The Behala-born addressed.
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The former left-handed batter also kept the Karnataka pacer, Prasidh Krishna, ahead of Akash Deep for the Perth Test because of the former’s height, which can help him in getting bounce off the surface.
“He may miss the Perth Test. There will be bowling-friendly conditions (for) Siraj, Bumrah, Akash Deep, or Prasidh (will be there). I guess Prasidh will play ahead of Akash because of the height and bounce (these conditions offer). So, Mohammad Shami should be on the flight and ready to play the Adelaide Test.” Ganguly shed light.
The opening game of the BGT 2024-25 will start on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.