Mushtaq Ali T20: Shami to spearhead Bengal bowling attack, Gharami named captain

New Delhi, Nov 18 After his outstanding return to competitive cricket during the last round of Ranji Trophy matches, star India pacer Mohammed Shami will now spearhead Bengal’s bowling attack in the forthcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. Young batter Sudip Kr Gharami has been named Bengal's captain for the tournament, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) announced on Monday. This means, there are very few chances of Shami dashing off to Australia to be part Indian squad at least for the first couple of matches.

Shami had made a memorable return to cricket after an ankle injury and subsequent surgery following the 2023 ODI World Cup, claiming seven wickets to power Bengal to a first-innings lead against Madhya Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Shami played a crucial role in helping India reach the final of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup in India.

After struggling to assert himself in the first innings on his return, the 34-year-old seamer, playing his first Ranji Trophy match since 2018, showed his class and experience, finishing as Bengal’s standout bowler with figures of 19-4-54-4 in the second essay. "Shami, who bagged seven wickets in the just-concluded Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh, will be a huge boost to Bengal’s chances in the T20 tournament," the CAB said in its social media post.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has no immediate plans to send Mohammed Shami to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting on November 22 in Perth, followed by matches in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney till January 7, 2025. Shami would have proved a big asset for the Indian bowling attack in Australia, which will be led by Jasprit Bumrah.

Shami played a pivotal role in India’s first-ever Test series win in Australia in 2018/19, where he picked 16 wickets in four matches at an average of 26.18.

In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20, Bengal are in Group A and will begin their campaign against Punjab in Rajkot on Saturday. Other teams in the group include Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Meghalaya.

Bengal squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy: Sudip Kr Gharami (c), Mohammed Shami, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karan Lal, Writtick Chatterjee, Ritwick Roy Chowdhury, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ranjot Singh Khaira, Prayas Ray Barman, Agniv Pant (wk), Pradipta Pramanik, Saksham Chaudhary, Ishan Porel, Md Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Soummyadip Mandal