Mohammed Shami, the Indian fast bowler currently out of national team selection, has been named in Bengal’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad after taking 20 wickets in four Ranji Trophy matches.Shami has made a successful return from his leg injury, participating in four out of Bengal’s five Ranji Trophy matches this season.His impressive performance of 15 wickets in the initial two matches helped Bengal secure victories against Uttarakhand and Gujarat, positioning them at the top of group C.The Bengal squad announcement on Friday included Shami alongside fellow India pacer Akash Deep in the 17-member team, with Abhimanyu Easwaran as captain.The national selectors have not included Shami in recent selections, leaving him out of both the white ball series in Australia and the ongoing Test series against South Africa.“My motivation is to stay fit and be available for the India team. It’s not my job to update selectors on fitness,” Shami had stated during the Ranji Trophy.The Bengal team also welcomes back Abhishek Porel, a promising wicketkeeper-batsman, after his stint with India A in the Rising Asia Cup tournament. Shakir Habib Gandhi joins as the second wicketkeeper.Bengal, placed in group C, will begin their T20 campaign against Baroda in Hyderabad on November 26.The group also includes Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Services, Puducherry, and Haryana as competing teams.
Bengal Squad:
Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sudip Gharami, Abishek Porel (WK), Shakir Habib Gandhi (WK), Yuvraj Keswani, Priyanshu Srivastav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pradipta Pramanik, Writtick Chatterjee, Karan Lal. Saksham Chaudhary, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Yudhajit Guha, Shreyan Chakraborty.
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