Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Ishant returns for Delhi, Shami named in Bengal squad

Ishant Sharma returns to Delhi's T20 set-up, while Mohammed Shami joins Bengal after a strong start to the Ranji Trophy season, picking up 14 wickets in three appearances.Ishant Sharma is part of the Gujarat Titans squad in IPL (PTI Photo)New Delhi,Nov 6, 2026 21:26 ISTVeteran India pacers Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami will be in action when the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy gets underway on November 14, with the two fast bowlers named in the squads of Delhi and Bengal respectively.Ishant, 38, has been included in Delhi's 16-member squad for the domestic T20 tournament, while 36-year-old Shami features in Bengal's 19-member group. Their selection comes at different stages of their domestic careers, with Ishant returning to the T20 set-up after a limited run in the format last season and Shami continuing to make himself available for Bengal.Ishant has not played a Ranji Trophy match since February 2024. However, he turned out for Delhi in both the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season. He played three matches in the T20 competition and picked up three wickets.The right-arm pacer was also part of the Gujarat Titans squad in IPL 2026, having been retained by the franchise after being bought at the 2025 auction. He featured in seven matches for Gujarat in the 2025 season, taking four wickets, but did not get an opportunity to play in the 2026 edition. Ishant will join fellow India pacers Harshit Rana and Mayank Yadav in the Delhi squad. Mayank featured in two matches during India's recent five-match T20I series against New Zealand and returned figures of 3 for 48 in the fourth match.Delhi will be led by Ayush Badoni, with the squad also featuring Priyansh Arya, Yash Dhull and wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat. Former captain Nitish Rana, however, has been left out. Rana had led Delhi in the previous edition, when the team failed to progress beyond the group stage.SHAMI CONTINUES TO PLAY FOR BENGAL Shami, meanwhile, has been a regular feature in Bengal's domestic campaign. The senior pacer has played three of the first four Ranji Trophy matches this season, picking up 14 wickets. He was overlooked for India's recent New Zealand tour but has continued to feature in domestic cricket. His inclusion adds experience to a Bengal attack that also features India pacer Mukesh Kumar and all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed.Abhimanyu Easwaran will lead Bengal, who have also included Under-23 captain Shashank Singh. The youngster is set to make his senior debut. Shahbaz will be available for Bengal's opening fixture against Karnataka.Delhi are placed in Elite Group B alongside Bihar, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Railways, Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu. They open their campaign against Jammu and Kashmir in Indore on November 14.Bengal are in Elite Group A with Karnataka, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Baroda, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. They begin against Karnataka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on the same day.DELHI SQUADAyush Badoni (captain), Priyansh Arya, Sarthak Ranjan, Yash Dhull, Ayush Doseja, Tejasvi (wicketkeeper), Anuj Rawat (wicketkeeper), Himmat Singh, Mayank Rawat, Keshav Dabas, Suyash Sharma, Digvesh, Ishant Sharma, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav and Simarjeet Singh.BENGAL SQUAD Bengal: Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Sudip Gharami, Yuvraj Keswani, Aditya Purohit, Abishek Porel (wk), Shakir Gandhi (wk), Karan Lal, Pradipta Pramanik, Sourav Halder, Prayas Ray Barman, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Kanishk Seth, Sayan Ghosh, Syed Irfan Aftab, Akhilesh Yadav, Rishabh Chaudhary and Shashank Singh.- Ends