All eyes will be on the Vijay Hazare quarterfinals on Thursday with focus on Mohammed Shami‘s performance as India wait for its premier fast bowler to hit peak form for a possible return to India squad for the Champions Trophy after a long injury layoff.
Shami will hope to put up a show for Bengal in their last-eight clash against Haryana in the first preliminary quarterfinal at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. In the other quarterfinal of the day, Rajasthan will take on Tamil Nadu at the Kotambi Stadium in the same city.
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With doubts hanging over Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the Champions trophy because of a back injury, head coach Gautam Gambhir will hope Shami is available for the 50-over tournament beginning February 19.
If found to be match-fit and given clearance by the BCCI medical team, Shami could even be included for the white-ball series against England beginning later this month. India will host England for five T20Is from January 22 to February 2, followed by three ODIs from February 6 to 12.
Shami is bowling full tilt in the nets, which was witnessed in a video that the veteran right-arm pacer posted a couple of days ago.
The promising caption for the post read: “Precision, Pace, and Passion, All Set to Take on the World!”
Shami has not played any international match since his injury in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he ended up as the leading wicket-taker.
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He returned to the domestic scene after almost a year, but had repeated swelling, which also blocked his possible inclusion for the latter half of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, which India lost 1-3.
