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Mohammed Shami suffered an injury scare when playing for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Maharashtra.
Mohammed Shami has been out of action from international cricket for 11 months. (PTI Photo)
Just when you thought Mohammed Shami had overcome all his injury concerns and looked set for a comeback to the Indian team, he suffered a concerning injury setback while playing for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Madhya Pradesh.
Bengal, led by Sudip Kumar Gharami set up a target of 190 runs and looked to take the game deep. Shami who was bowling the penultimate over, reportedly tried to stop the ball with his foot resulting in the pacer falling. After the fall he was a bit uncomfortable and was seen holding his lower back.
The BCCI’s Centre of Excellence’s medical panel, Nitin Patel promptly entered the field to do his checkups but saw no serious injuries. He was brought in to track Shami and his fitness.
Shami is working to full fitness after a long layoff from international cricket. He has not played an international game since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad.
Earlier reports suggested that should Shami pass all the fitness checks, he could be flown to Australia to join the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But it is also suggested that the BCCI do not want to take unnecessary risks.
The veteran fast bowler has been a mainstay in the Indian fast-bowling setup alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. But the Indian team are leaving no stone unturned as they have looked to more younger options like Harshit Rana who has chipped in with a handy contribution on his Test debut at Perth.
As for Bengal, they lost the game against Maharashtra by six wickets and two balls left thanks to a fine knock by the skipper Rajat Patidar who scored 68 from 40 and Subhranshu Senapati’s 50 from 33 balls respectively.
Bengal currently sits at the third spot in Group A after the fourth round of games. They will play Meghalaya up next on Sunday at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Bengal and the BCCI management will hope that Shami can brush past all the injury concerns and get back to the field and bowl.
India will also be gearing up for the second Test against Australia in Adelaide which will be a pink ball game set to begin on December 6-10.
