Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Mohammed Shami bags four against Madhya Pradesh on return

Mohammed Shami, making return to competetive cricket after a year-long injury-enforced break, scalped a four-fer during the ongoing Ranji Trophy game between Madhya Pradesh and Bengal. Having featured in the World Cup last year and emerging as India's leading wicket-taker, he was sidelined from the setup with an ankle injury for which he had to undergo surgery. He opened the bowling for Bengal on Day 1 of the game itself, after they were skittled out for 228 in 51.2 overs. 

The opening day saw Shami bowl 10 wicketless overs. Day 1 of Shami's spell saw him extract some seam movement from the pitch, coupled with a probing line around the wicket-taking channel. He beat the edge on several occasions and looked in full tilt, however, success came his way on the second day as he scalped four wickets. Shami's first dismissal was of the skipper Shubham Sharma. The batters coming in at numbers 7, 8, and 9 became Shami's victims as well. Wriddhiman Saha was involved in two of these dismissals as MP collapsed by against the gritty Bengal bowling lineup.

Also Read: Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Round 5, Day 1 Review

Although Shami has not been included in the 18-member squad for the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, there are quite a few reports doing the rounds which suggest his potential inclusion in the red-ball setup once the series gets underway.

Originally, it was the chief selector of the India men's team, Ajit Agarkar, who indicated that Shami might be a part of India's squad in their two-match series against Bangladesh. However, according to certain reports, the cricketer developed issues in his knee which further pushed back his return to competitve cricket.