Mohammed Shami is set for his second red-ball appearance this season. The 35-year-old pacer has been included in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy squad, which was announced on Wednesday.

Bengal begin their Ranji campaign against Uttarakhand at Eden Gardens next Wednesday.

“Shami will be coming on Sunday night and joining our practice from the day after,” head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla said at the Eden.

Shami had featured in the Duleep Trophy game for East Zone earlier in the season. In the current situation, an India comeback is not easy for the senior pacer, but to continue in the IPL, he needs to feature in a decent number of domestic matches and prove he’s fit enough.

Shami will have Akash Deep as his new-ball partner.

Easwaran to lead

Abhimanyu Easwaran will return to lead Bengal after being relieved of captaincy duties midway through the 2022-23 Ranji season. The top-order batter takes over from senior pro Anustup Majumdar, who led the team last season.

“That Abhimanyu has led India A was also considered before naming him as captain,” a CAB insider said.

Vishal Bhati, Rahul Prasad and Saurav Singh are the new faces in the squad, while senior pacer Mukesh Kumar may miss the first three games as he’s yet to recover fully from the thigh strain sustained during the Duleep Trophy.