Mohammed Shami gears up for his comeback in domestic cricket with Ranji Trophy match against MP

Shami, who has been sidelined from competitive cricket since India's ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad last November, had hoped to make a comeback for the tour of Australia. However, his recovery from surgery for an Achilles tendon injury took longer than expected. He spent the majority of last year at the National Cricket Academy working on his rehabilitation.

With their hopes of picking Shami for Australia going down the drain, the senior selectors finally went with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana in the squad, with Mukesh Kumar, Khaleej Ahmed and Navdeep Saini as travelling reserves. It remains to be seen if Shami can be a last-minute inclusion to the squad if he proves his match fitness in Indore.

His addition is also a much-needed boost for Bengal, who are currently in the fifth spot in the points table with eight points from four games.