Mohammed Shami to miss the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy?

Mohammed Shami hasn’t been named in Bengal’s squad for their next two Ranji Trophy 2024-25 fixtures: Karnataka (November 6-9) and Madhya Pradesh (November 13-16), respectively. This has further delayed his comeback to competitive cricket.

The right-arm fast bowler hasn’t played any competitive cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup final. The 34-year-old did not take part in India's triumphant T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, as he opted to undergo surgery on his right Achilles tendon and has been in rehabilitation ever since. 

Shami did undergo bowling and fielding drills at the end of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru on October 20 and said he is "100 per cent” pain-free. However, he had developed “a swelling on his knee” and wasn’t named in India’s squad for the five-match Test series in Australia, starting on November 22.

Now, if Shami doesn’t feature in any of the next two games for Bengal, it’s highly unlikely he will take any part in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The first half of the ongoing Ranji Trophy will come to an end on November 16, and the focus will shift to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (November 23-December 15) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy (December 21-January 18).

The second half of the Ranji Trophy will only get underway from January 23, but by then, the Border-Gavaskar trophy will be over. Shami did say that he wants to play a couple of domestic games before making a comeback to the Indian side but by the looks of it, it won’t happen if he doesn’t play in the next two rounds. It’s also highly unlikely that the selectors will pick him in the Indian Test squad without any match practice. 

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