Mohammed Shami's Duleep Trophy Performance Could Pave His Way To Indian Test Squad But On One Condition: Report

India's domestic season of cricket is slated to kick off with the much-anticipated Duleep Trophy. East Zone, North Zone, Central Zone, South Zone, North East Zone and South Zone will be pitted against each other for the coveted trophy.

Duleep Trophy To Commence On August 28

The Duleep Trophy quarterfinals will commence on August 28 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru with North Zone taking on East Zone and Central Zone taking on North East Zone. Mohammed Shami has been in focus for a while. The 34-year-old has been named in the East Zone squad and is expected to be named in the playing XI when they take on the Central Zone on August 28. Shami was in contention to be picked for the Indian Test squad for the England series, but an injury ruled him out.

Mohammed Shami's Test Future Could Be Determined in Duleep Trophy

Should Shami manage to feature in the Duleep Trophy, it will be his second first-class match after his Ranji Trophy outing against Madhya Pradesh last year. As per the Telegraph, Shami's performance in the Duleep Trophy will be measured and it could play a pivotal role in his comeback to the Test team. If East Zone fails to advance to the semifinals, Shami would only have a single game to prove his trickery.

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A BCCI source told The Telegraph that Shami's performance will be monitored and his fitness will also be evaluated. “If Shami comes up with an impact-making performance against North Zone, the selectors will certainly take notice because his quality cannot be ruled out.

“But what we need to see is whether he’ll play even if East Zone clear the quarter-final stage and continue to make progress. Will his body permit, given his dodgy knee and hamstring? “In the Ranji game, he used to bowl three-four overs in a spell and go off the ground. So, whether his body can take the rigours of a multi-day game goes on and on to be a tricky question.”

It remains to be seen how things unfold in the next few days.

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