Mohammed Shami returns to Bengal squad for Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season

New Delhi [India], October 10 (ANI): Star Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has been included in Bengal's Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season for the starting phase of the competition. He would be assisted by Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel in the pace department, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
Shami hasn't played for the Indian Cricket Team since the completion of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which finished in March.
The fast-bowler was left out from the Indian Test squad which is currently playing the two-match series against the West Indies. Stating the reason behind the player's omission, chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that he has been left out of the squad due to a lack of match time as one of the reasons.
Since the IPL 2025, Shami has played just one first-class game, for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, where he bowled a total of 34 overs in two innings of the game, where he managed to scalp just one wicket.
On the other hand, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar will be looking to count this oppurtunity in order to get back in the Team Indian squad ahead of the South Africa series starting November 14.
Akash Deep was part of India's recent tour to England, featuring in three of the five Tests and shining with a ten-wicket haul in India's victory at Birmingham.
Since returning from England, however, he has been undergoing rehabilitation for a back injury that ruled him out of the Duleep Trophy. Although he has now cleared a fitness test, but he was not included in the squad for the ongoing Test series against the West Indies.
Mukesh, meanwhile, was part of the India A tour of England in the summer, taking three wickets in his only outing. He bowled just one innings in East Zone's Duleep Trophy opener before being assessed for a hamstring injury. He has since passed all fitness tests at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence.
Bengal will lock horns with Uttarakhand in their opening clash of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season at Eden Gardens on October 15. Bengal is placed in Group C, with Assam, Services, Tripura, Railways, Haryana and Gujarat as the other teams. (ANI)