Mohammad Shami Comeback: Team India's experienced fast bowler Mohammad Shami has been away from competitive cricket for a long time after injury. His fans were hoping that he would play in Bengal's upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka in Bengaluru on November 6, but he has once again missed out on returning to the field.

Shami's name is not included in the team announced on Saturday under the leadership of Anustup Majumdar. Although there has been no change in Bengal's team for the fifth round of Ranji Trophy against Madhya Pradesh, Shami is likely to take part in the match starting on November 13 at Holkar Stadium in Indore. Bengal, led by coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla, is fourth in Elite Group C with five points after three Ranji Trophy matches.

Sources told IANS, "Shami will not play the match against Karnataka and is expected to play against Madhya Pradesh. According to the information received from the BCCI Centre of Excellence, the management does not want to rush into anything regarding him. There are also reports that Shami wants to return to competitive cricket with his speed and ease."

Shami, who has 229 wickets in 64 Tests, bowled in front of Shubman Gill and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar in the Indian team's net practice at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after their eight-wicket loss in the Test series opener against New Zealand on October 20.

The very next day, Shami said at a promotional event in Gurugram that he was 100 percent fit and showed keen interest in playing some domestic matches.

Shami last played competitive cricket on 19 November 2023 against Australia in Ahmedabad in the 2023 ODI World Cup Final. In that tournament, despite not playing in India's opening matches, Shami took 24 wickets at an average of 10.70 and was the leading bowler in the competition in terms of wickets.

Bengal squad against Karnataka is as follows: Anustup Majumdar (captain), Wriddhiman Saha, Sudip Chatterjee, Sudip CR Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rithik Chatterjee, Evilin Ghosh, Shuvam Dey, Shakir Habib Gandhi, Pradipta Pramanik, Amir Ghani, Ishan Porel, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammad Kaif, Rohit Kumar, Rishav Vivek.