Kolkata, 12 Nov

Premier India pacer Mohammed Shami will make his much-anticipated return to competitive cricket after a hiatus of nearly a year through Bengal's Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore from Wednesday, announced Cricket Association of Bengal.

Shami, who has been out of action since the 2023 World Cup final on November 19 due to an ankle injury and the subsequent surgery, will aim to prove his fitness in a real match situation after undergoing intense rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

"In a major boost to Indian cricket and the Bengal Ranji Trophy team, star pacer Mohammad Shami will make a comeback into competitive cricket for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match in Indore starting on Wednesday," CAB secretary Naresh Ojha said in a statement. Ojha said Shami will spearhead the Bengal pace bowling unit and the Indian thinktank in Australia too will closely follow Shami's outing.

India have opted for a largely untested pace attack for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with rookies such as Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna backing senior pros Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Khaleel Ahmed are in the reserves, but all of them come with minimal exposure to Test cricket.

There was intense speculation surrounding Shami's inclusion in the Indian squad to tour Australia but skipper Rohit Sharma struck down such thoughts saying he did not prefer taking an "undercooked" senior pacer Down Under. Shami had played a big role in India’s historic 2-1 Test series victory in 2018-19 against Australia, claiming 16 wickets at an average of 26.18.

Instead, Shami focused on regaining optimum fitness at the NCA and he also bowled at full tilt at nets while India bowling coach Morne Morkel kept a close watch.

The nearly one-hour session took place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru after India's first Test against New Zealand last month. Later Shami also said during a promotional event that he was feeling "100 per cent" about his fitness and bowling levels.

Shami was also impressive during his outing for India in the ODI World Cup last year. The 34-year-old was the top wicket-taker in the ICC showpiece with 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.70. Since then, he was out of action with an Achilles tendon injury on his right leg, for which the pacer underwent surgery in March.