Mohammed Shami returns to 50-over cricket, named in Bengal's Vijay Hazare squad

Seasoned speedster Mohammed Shami has marked his return to 50-over cricket after being named in the squad for the upcoming tournament. Shami, who last played a One-Dayer during the ODI World Cup 2023 Final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, has now been announced in the Bengal squad for the 2024-25 season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy - India's premier 50-over domestic competition.

Placed in Group E, Bengal will play all of their league-stage fixtures at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Like SMAT 2024, Sudip Kumar Gharami will be seen captaining them for the 50-over competition as well. Abishek Porel and Shakir Habib Gandhi are the two wicketkeeping options for the eastern state. Shami's younger brother and all-rounder, Mohammed Kaif, has also been named in the squad.

Coming back to Shami, the Amroha-born returned to professional cricket with a Ranji game of the current season. His latest outing came in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Baroda in the quarter-final, played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Across nine games in the tournament, the pacer picked up a total of 11 wickets, and also contributed with a quick-fire 32* in the pre-quarter final clash versus Chandigarh.

Mukesh Kumar also in Bengal's VHT squad

Apart from Shami, 31-year-old Indian pacer Mukesh Kumar is also expected to lead the pace battery alongside the senior pro. However, Mukesh may not feature in the first few games for Bengal since the right-arm bowler is currently in Australia with the Indian team as one of the travelling reserves, and is expected to remain a part of the mix-up until the series concludes. As a result, he may be seen featuring only in knockouts, given Bengal qualify.

Bengal Squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25:

Sudip Kumar Gharami (capt), Mohammed Shami, Anustup Majumdar, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Karan Lal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Ranjot Singh Khaira, Pradipta Pramanik, Kaushik Maity, Vikas Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Saksham Chaudhary, Rohit Kumar, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth

Check Here: Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 | Squads and Full Players List of all Teams

Bengal Schedule for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25