Md Shami set to play Vijay Hazare final vs Tamil Nadu

DELHI: India speedster Mohammed Shami will bolster the Bengal pace attack in what promises to be an exciting Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Tamil Nadu, here on Monday.

Shami, who played one match for Bengal at the league stage has been declared fit to play the summit clash and has reportedly joined the team.

“Yes, the good news is that Mohammed Shami is available for the final match. He has joined the Bengal squad in the evening,” a senior CAB official said. Shami hasn’t played for India since the Mohali Test against England in November. The selection committee chairman MSK Prasad and his colleagues Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi would like to check Shami’s fitness as they decide on the Deodhar Trophy teams as well as keeping IPL in mind.

Even Delhi Daredevils team officials will be keenly watching Shami’s performance at the Ferozeshah Kotla.

Shami was a part of the team that won Hazare Trophy back in 2012 and his performance in that tournament brought him into national reckoning. The Bengal team wanted to keep Shami’s presence under wraps as the Tamil Nadu team would not have apprehended that he would be available for the final match.

Shami in all probability will replace right-arm slinger Sayan Ghosh in the line-up.

Both Bengal and Tamil Nadu have proved their mettle in the limited overs format having played back-to-back finals in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 editions.

On both occasions, it was Tamil Nadu, who comfortably went past the finishing line with Abhinav Mukund and Murali Vijay scoring centuries.

It will be an occasion when Tiwary and his young boys can extract revenge against Vijay Shankar’s team who are known to fire on big occasions.