Sign In
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
New Delhi: Out-of-favour India fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who has been in sensational form in domestic cricket with 36 wickets across formats, has been included in Bengal's squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament.
Shami has not played for India for a while and was overlooked for the recent series against South Africa. He made a strong comeback to competitive cricket for Bengal after a lengthy injury lay-off. The pacer's fitness has been a subject of debate in recent times.
However, despite his absence from the Indian team, he has been delivering brilliant performances in the domestic tournaments. Shami took 20 wickets in four Ranji Trophy matches at an average of 18.60, including a 5/38. Bengal have remained undefeated in five outings after securing three wins and two draws to sit at the top of the Group C table.
He then carried his form into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and finished as Bengal's highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps in seven matches. Shami will lead Bengal's pace attack in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which also includes India pacers Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, while top-order batter Abhimanyu Easwaran was named as the captain.
Bengal have been placed in Elite Group B and will start their campaign against Vidarbha in Rajkot on December 24. The other teams in the group are Assam, Baroda, Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh.
The premier 50-over domestic tournament will be held across Ahmedabad (Group A), Rajkot (Group B), Jaipur (Group C) and Alur (Group D), while the BCCI's Centre of Excellence will host the knockout matches from January 12-18.
Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Anustup Majumdar, Abishek Porel (WK), Sudip Kr Gharami, Sumanta Gupta, Sumit Nag (WK), Chandrahas Dash, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karan Lal, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Sayan Ghosh, Ravi Kumar, Aamir Gani, Vishal Bhati, Ankit Mishra.
