Mohammed Shami's exclusion from Bengal Ranji Trophy squad contributes to Australia's Test comeback efforts being thwarted

A new injury has unfortunately forced Bengal selectors to err on the side of caution and exclude Mohammed Shami from the upcoming Ranji Trophy matches. This decision effectively dashes Shami's chances of returning to the international stage for the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia.

India did not name Shami in the Test squad for the five-Test series in Australia, which will begin on November 22 in Perth. The Indian team management was rather waiting for the veteran fast bowler to prove his match fitness in Bengal's upcoming matches in the fourth and fifth round of the ongoing Ranji Trophy, against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, respectively. It would have marked Shami's return to competitive cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

However, according to a report in Times of India, Shami, who has been nursing from an ankle injury, which he incurred during the ICC tournament last year, has developed a side strain. The fresh injury subsequently derailed his return to the sport and left India with a bit of a concern, given that his addition would have been a major boost for the under-fire management in the wake of the home Test series whitewash against New Zealand.

The senior India cricketer was initially considered to make a return to international cricket in the Test series against New Zealand before captain Rohit Sharma revealed that Shami incurred a swollen knee during his rehabilitation process at the NCA in Bengaluru.

However, he recovered quickly and was spotted bowling at the Chinnaswamy ground after the end of the New Zealand series opener in Bengaluru late last month under watchful eyes of bowling coach Morne Morkel. In fact, in a promotional event in Gurgaon, in October, he revealed that he started bowling at his "100%" and that the "results are good".

"I had been bowling with half a run-up on and off since I can't put too much stress on my body. So we decided that I would bowl properly, and I gave my 100%," Shami had said.

"The Australia series is still far away. The only thing I want to focus on is how to keep myself fit, and how strong I can be before going there. I know what kind of an attack we want for that Test series, so it's better I spend some more time on the ground before going. If I get fit and I get a gap of eight to ten days, then it's better I play one or two domestic matches before going to Australia," he said.