Mohammed Shami (Source: AFP)
In a significant development, Bengal on Friday (November 22, 2025) announced its squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025-26, with a significant inclusion of out-of-favour India pacer Mohammed Shami.
Shami, along with fellow India pacer Akash Deep, is also part of Bengal’s 17-member squad to be captained by Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Mohammed Shami's strong Ranji performance
Shami has made a strong case for his selection after recovering from a leg injury. In the first phase of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26, Shami picked 20 wickets in seven innings at an economy of 2.56 and a strike rate of 43.00. His 15 wickets in the first two matches helped Bengal for back-to-back wins against Uttarakhand and Gujarat.
It is important to note that having played four of Bengal’s five Ranji matches, the veteran pacer is fit and eager to make a comeback to the Indian team. The star pacer has been out of the the Indian team for a long time and was last seen during India’s Champions Trophy-winning campaign.
He was also recently overlooked for the recent white-ball series in Australia and the ongoing Test series against South Africa despite Ranji's heroics.
Bengal included in Group C
Other notable members of the Bengal squad are Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Abhishek Porel and Shakir Habib Gandhi.
Bengal is placed in Group C for SMAT 2025-26 and will face Baroda in their opening match on November 26 in Hyderabad. Other teams in their group include Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Services, Puducherry, and Haryana.
Bengal's squad for SMAT
Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sudip Gharami, Abishek Porel (WK), Shakir Habib Gandhi (WK), Yuvraj Keswani, Priyanshu Srivastav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pradipta Pramanik, Writtick Chatterjee, Karan Lal. Saksham Chaudhary, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Yudhajit Guha, Shreyan Chakraborty
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