Bengal has named a strong 20-member squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, with seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami making the cut as he looks to prove his fitness for the ongoing Test series in Australia.
Shami's inclusion comes as a boost for Bengal, as he aims to regain full fitness following a knee injury that has kept him out of Test cricket.

Shami, who last represented India in the 2023 ODI World Cup, underwent ankle surgery in February and made a comeback during the Ranji Trophy in November, taking seven wickets in a match against Madhya Pradesh. He followed this up by playing all nine games for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he claimed 11 wickets.
Sudip Kumar Gharami is set to lead the side, which shall also see the return of Anustup Majumdar, the current Bengal captain in Ranji Trophy. Mukesh Kumar is also lined up for a return to the team as the India standby player has been released from the Australia squad.
The Bengal squad is set to leave Kolkata for Hyderabad on Wednesday (Dec 18) as they gear up for the competition with a mix of experienced campaigners and emerging talent. After getting eliminated from the Quarterfinals in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Bengal's aim will be to showcase a better outing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Bengal are placed in Group E of the Vijay Hazare Trophy along with Bihar, Kerala, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Baroda. All of Bengal's group stage matches will be played in Hyderabad.
| Match | Date |
| Bengal vs Delhi | Dec 21 |
| Bengal vs Tripura | Dec 26 |
| Bengal vs Baroda | Dec 28 |
| Bengal vs Kerala | Dec 31 |
| Bengal vs Bihar | Jan 3 |
| Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh | Jan 5 |
Sudip Kumar Gharami (c), Mohammed Shami, Anustup Majumdar, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Karan Lal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Ranjot Singh Khaira, Pradipta Pramanik, Kaushik Maity, Vikas Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Saksham Chaudhary, Rohit Kumar, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth