India’s top pacer Mohammed Shami, who is recovering from ankle surgery, is anticipated to return for the home Test series against Bangladesh later this year, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said.

After undergoing surgery for an Achilles tendon last month, Shami who was not present for the five-match Test series against England, will not be able to play in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), Shah added.

Shami hasn’t played for the Indian side in a while; he was last seen competing in the ODI World Cup in India, even though he was dealing with ankle trouble.

In September, India will play three T20 Internationals and two Test matches against Bangladesh.

In an interview with the media, Shah said, Shami is back in India after completing his surgery. He is expected to make his comeback for the home series over Bangladesh.

Giving an update on KL Rahul, Shah said, KL needed an injection. He has started rehab and is at the NCA. KL reported complained of soreness in his right quadriceps, which kept him out of the final four Test matches against England. After receiving treatment in London, he is anticipated to play for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL.

In addition, the BCCI secretary provided an update on Rishabh Pant, who is expected to make his eagerly anticipated IPL comeback. Pant is out of action since a terrible car accident in December 2022.

On Rishabh Pant, Shah continued saying, he is keeping up nicely and batting well. They will declare him fit very soon. It would be very significant for Indian team if he could represent the country in the T20 World Cup. He is a big asset for the team, Shah added.

Shah said, he can compete in the World Cup if he can keep. They will monitor how he does in the IPL.

In the fifth and final Test of the series, Team India defeated England by an incredible innings and 64 runs on Saturday in Dharamsala, to seal the series 4-1. Since losing the first Test match in Hyderabad, India had been playing brilliantly; in the fifth Test, they quickly won the match, batting England out for just 218 and 195 in the first two innings.

Team’s head coach Rahul Dravid assembled the whole squad in the changing room after the Test series win and thanked each player for their outstanding performances.

Dravid emphasized the team’s capacity to overcome challenges on and off the field in a speech that the BCCI released on their official X, formerly Twitter, account. The performances his squad gave, particularly those of the younger players like Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, etc., amazed Dravid.

He emphasized in his post-Dharamsala Test speech the intensity of Test matches, particularly when facing teams such as England. Though the squad lost the first game of the series, he was nevertheless pleased that they overcame the obstacles and prevailed.

The head coach began his speech by saying, throughout this series, there were moments when they faced difficulties and were forced to overcome them in order to succeed. It refers to the abilities, fortitude, and character they possess. He said, they found players in this changing room who stood up and turned the tide of many a game in this series that could have gone any way.

He continued saying, the team have to win the games where they were ahead and prevent the opponent from coming back, in addition to winning when they have to battle back. In addition he congratulated the team for their amazing performance.

The difficulties of playing Test cricket were then emphasized by Dravid, who also emphasized the significance of the format and the satisfaction that comes with winning a series after trailing 0–1. In his speech, he also expressed gratitude to the support staff. The players are heading to the Indian Premier League, which will continue for two months, while the team management will have a break.

In the closing moments of the video, captain Rohit Sharma also expressed gratitude to his team for giving it their all to win the series.

Former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan will contest Lok Sabha elections as Trinamool Congress candidate from West Bengal’s Behrampore constituency, which is currently held by Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Congress is yet to name its candidates for Bengal, however, Chowdhury is likely to seek a recontest from the seat, which he has represented as many as five times in the Lok Sabha.

Taking to X, the former cricketer extended his gratitude to party supremo Banerjee for welcoming him into the TMC family and trusting him with the responsibility to become the people’s voice in the Parliament. As representatives of the people, it is our duty to uplift the poor and deprived, and that is what he hopes to achieve, Pathan added.

The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC on Sunday announced 42 candidates for the upcoming general elections in Bengal, making it official there is no alliance with the INDIA bloc parties in the State.

The seat from which Mahua Moitra was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019, Karthinagar, will serve as the backdrop for her contest. She was expelled from the Lok Sabha due to a bribe-for-question controversy.

The 42-seat did not include the name of actor Nusrat Jahan, who is now serving as an MP for Basirhat, a Sandeshkhali constituency, for the Lok Sabha elections.

TMC party announced its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections at a grand rally held at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata. This was the first time the party had made such an announcement in this manner.

The names of the candidates were revealed by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, while the party’s leader and Chief Minister Banerjee, paraded with the 42 candidates in front of a massive gathering at the ground.

Meanwhile, Congress claimed that it has always preferred the INDIA bloc to fight the election together against the BJP and the party has made it clear time and time again that it wants to share seats in West Bengal with the TMC in a decent arrangement.

The Indian National Congress has consistently argued that rather than being finalized by decree, such an accord must be reached through discussions. The party has always wanted the INDIA group to fight the BJP together, said senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.