Mohammed Shami delivered a Player of the Match performance as he starred with a match haul of seven wickets in Bengal's Ranji Trophy opener against Uttarakhand.
Shami, currently out of the Indian team, has been in the headlines for his fitness. However, the speedster began the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 with a stellar performance. He took three wickets in the first innings and four in the second, with Bengal winning the clash by eight wickets at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Abhimanyu Easwaran stars in second innings
While Shami was the star with the ball, captain Abhimanyu Easwaran put his golden duck in the first innings to bed with a strong outing in the second essay. He struck an unbeaten 71 from 81 balls to guide his team home in the tricky chase of 156. Apart from him, Sudip Kumar Gharami also made 46 from 47 deliveries.
The knock comes at a crucial time for Easwaran, who has lost his place in the India A squad for the second four-day fixture against Australia A last month. He has also been dropped from India's Test squad, having been a reserve opener for some time now, but not getting a game to play.
Shami wins Player of the Match for seven-wicket haul
Meanwhile, Shami was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his seven-wicket haul in the match. After picking three in the first innings when Uttarakhand were bowled out for 213, he picked four in the second and played a key role in dismissing them for 265. Bengal had made 323 in their first innings and were handed a target of 156.
Shami has been in the headlines of late. The star pacer has not played an international match for India since the 2025 Champions Trophy, and despite playing domestic cricket, has not been selected in the team.
Aji Agarkar stated Shami was not fit for six-eight months
Recently, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that Shami has not been fit for the last 'six-eight months to a year'.
"He has been an incredible performer for India. If he said something, maybe that is a conversation for me to have with him or him to have with me. But even before England, we said if he was fit, he would have been on that plane. Unfortunately, he wasn't," Agarkar had said on Shami as quoted by NDTV.
"Our domestic season has just started, so we will see if he is fit enough, and we will see where it goes. This is the first round of Ranji games that is going on. We will find out in a couple of more games. If he is bowling well, why would you not want to have someone like Shami?
"But what we have found in the last six-eight months to a year, even during the Australia tour, we were desperate to have him on, but unfortunately, his fitness wasn't there. If he does stay fit over the next few months, the story might be different. But at this point, as far as I know, he wasn't fit enough for that England tour," he added.
This came after Shami reasoned his presence in the domestic circuit to his fitness being in place. "Selection is not in my hands. If there's a fitness issue, I should not be here playing for Bengal. I don't need to speak on this and create a controversy. If I can play four-dayers, I can also play 50-over cricket," Shami had told PTI.
