After missing England tour, Md Shami is set to be back in action

After being overlooked for India’s ongoing five-Test tour of England as he wasn’t deemed fit enough to handle the rigours of five-day cricket, Mohammed Shami may finally be making a return to cricketing action next month. The 34-year-old right-arm quick was on Saturday included in Bengal’s 50-man probables list for the upcoming 2025-26 domestic cricket season.

Shami, who has endured several injury setbacks and a difficult run of form since his last international appearance during India’s title-winning ICC Champions Trophy campaign in March 2025, was last seen in action during the Indian Premier League.

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A veteran of 64 Tests, 108 ODIs and 25 T20Is, Shami was instrumental in guiding India to the Champions Trophy title by taking nine wickets in five matches, to share the top wicket-taker honours for India with teammate Varun Chakravarthy. However, the star pacer looked far from his best during his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, picking up just six wickets in nine innings, with an alarming economy rate of 11.23.

Following that, Shami was not considered for India’s marquee five-Test series in England. As chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained, “The medical guys have told us that he has been ruled out of this series. He has been trying to be fit for the series, but he had a setback over the last week, and he has had some MRIs done. I don’t think he was going to be able to play five Tests… It is unfortunate. We always want to pick a bowler like him.”

Shami’s absence from the longest format stems from numerous injury concerns. The right-armer, who made a return to international cricket after a gap of more than 12 months, missed most of the action last season, after he underwent an ankle surgery in February 2024, followed by persistent knee discomfort during his rehab at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

He eventually made his competitive comeback in domestic cricket, leading Bengal to an 11-run victory against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. Shami took seven wickets in the match and scored a crucial 37 runs, proving instrumental in Bengal’s win. He also featured in the domestic white-ball matches for his state side. His performance fast-tracked his return to international cricket, as he featured in the white-ball fixtures against England, earlier this year.

After being named in Bengal’s probables list for the upcoming season, along with several top names like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed and Abishek Porel, Shami will be desperate to prove his fitness and press his case for international return with India scheduled to host the West Indies and South Africa in Tests, later this year.