Mohammed Shami not a part of Bengal Ranji Trophy squad for next two matches

Mohammed Shami has been dealing with an ankle injury that has kept him out of action since November last year. Despite showing positive signs of recovery, Shami has not been included in Bengal's squad for the next two matches of the Ranji Trophy, where they will face Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Last month, Shami mentioned at an event that he had resumed bowling at full intensity and that the recovery process was yielding good results. However, his absence from the squad indicates that he is still not ready for competitive play.

The veteran said that it depends on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) if he will play against Australia or not during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting from November 22 onwards at Perth. The second Test, scheduled for December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under the stadium's lights. After that, fans will turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, which will be held from December 14 to 18.

The customary Boxing Day Test, set for December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's storied Melbourne Cricket Ground, will bring the series to its penultimate stage. The fifth and final Test, to take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, will serve as the series climax, promising a dramatic conclusion to an exciting contest.

The India pacer suffered an ankle injury, which forced him to stay away from the field since November. He was the tournament's leading wicket-taker, with 24 wickets in just seven games at an average of 10.70 and economy rate of 5.70, with best figures of 7/57. He took three five-wicket hauls in the tournament and defied all the pain and fatigue he was facing.

In Abhimanyu Easwaran's absence, Anustup Majumdar will lead Bengal. Easwaran is currently in Australia representing India A against Australia A. Joining Easwaran on the tour are Bengal players Abishek Porel and Mukesh Kumar. Additionally, Akash Deep, who has been part of the India Test side and has yet to feature in this season's Ranji Trophy, is not included in the squad. Bengal's lineup will need to adapt to these significant absences as they look to perform strongly in the forthcoming matches.

Bengal squad: Anustup Majumdar (capt), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Sudip Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Writtick Chatterjee, Avilin Ghosh, Shuvam Dey, Shakir Habib Gandhi, Pradipta Pramanik, Aamir Gani, Ishan Porel, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Kaif, Rohit Kumar, Rishav Vivek.

India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar. (ANI)