BREAKING: Bengal in a spot as Shahbaz Ahamad down with fever & body pain ahead of Ranji Trophy final
Bengal have been forced to redraw their plans as all-rounder Shahbaz Ahamad is down with fever and body pain, Sportskeeda has reliably learnt. He missed today’s practice as Manoj Tiwary’s boys geared up for the final of the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy versus Saurashtra starting Thursday at the Eden Gardens.
While the visitors received a shot in the arm with the availability of veteran pacer Jaydev Unadkat, Bengal are stuck in a limbo with the fitness of their star man. The hosts are chasing a first Ranji crown since the historic 1989/90 season.
“With so much cricket he has been playing of late, he felt feverish today. But it’s not about the fever. It is the ensuing body weakness which is a cause of concern,” a reliable source informed Sportskeeda.
Stuck between the retreat of winter and the onset of summer, several people in the city find themselves within the grasp of a viral fever. If that is indeed the case with Shahbaz, the 28 year-old will have a tough time getting match-fit within two days. The Bengal thinktank and the medial team are set to take a call tomorrow – the final practice session before the summit clash.
Shahbaz, who was part of India’s ODI squad against Bangladesh and New Zealand, has picked up 20 wickets at an average of 27.80 this Ranji season. In the seven matches, he has also scored 339 runs at a stunning average of 48.42, with two half-centuries to boot.
Head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla is well aware of the predicament. Hence, despite a green top being readied, Pradipta Pramanik – the closest like-for-like replacement for Shahbaz – got long sessions with both ball and bat. After serving the Abhimanyu Easwarans and Anustup Majumdars, the lanky left-arm spinner himself spent about 15 minutes under the helmet. Shukla kept a close eye on him, even shouting out, “Ei ball gulo match e charte hobe [you have to leave these balls in the match]” at one instance.
If Shahbaz fails to recover in time, Pramanik will survive the dangling axe. In all likelihood, the latter would otherwise make way for a fourth seamer in Akash Ghatak. While Pramanik was the star of the second innings of the semi-final, scoring an unbeaten 60 before scalping five wickets, Ghatak was instrumental in cleaning up Jharkhand in the second essay of the quarterfinal.
Bengal opening woes stick out like sore thumb
![Bengal practice underway at the Eden Gardens today [Credits: Srinjoy Sanyal]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/02/63150-16763806842082-1920.jpg?w=500)
Bengal have three batters among the top eight run-getters in this edition. Their pace attack is the envy of other states. They have lost just one game out of nine. But even after so many trials, they are yet to arrive at a settled opening combination.
Bengal have tried out six different opening pairs in the nine matches so far. Their opening partnership averages a sorry 25.12, having crossed 50 just twice in 16 innings – highest being 84 between Easwaran and Sayan Sekhar Mondal against Uttarakhand.
Youngster Kazi Junaid Saifi paired up with Easwaran in the quarterfinal, before Shukla went back to Karan Lal – who also opened versus Haryana – for the penultimate game. Since Lal could only muster 42 runs (23 & 19) against Madhya Pradesh, the team management has again been left scratching their head.
The 22 year-old Lal, who also has a handy off-break, underwent two separate net sessions today, in addition to facing throwdowns on the outfield. Kazi, on the other hand, batted for a while before sending down some off spin. Bengal have got a lot to ponder, but none more than the fitness of Shahbaz Ahamad.