Mohammed Shami has not been included in the India squad going to play the Border-Gavaskar trophy, owing to unavailability of the Indian fast bowler who is rehabilitating from an ankle injury.
In one of the reports, it was indicated in other quarters that Shami might replace the players in the squad after he started participating in competitive games in the last two rounds of the focus Ranji Trophy.
Having played the 64 Tests to account for 229 wickets, Shami generally went back to practice at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore before even bowling at the nets called for the Indian team just after they lost by 8 wickets the Test series opener to New Zealand, during which captain Rohit Sharma had said that the fast bowler had difficulty coming back to play due to his knee swelling.
Shami, who had his left knee heavily strapped and appeared to wince at times, seemed to have found a bit of rhythm after bowling at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 20 to Shubman Gill and padded assistant coach Abhishek Nayar for more than an hour. Only a day later, Shami was shooting for a commercial in Gurugram and stated that he was almost 100% pain-free and he wanted to play a few local games.
As per IANS sources, should the circumstances remain favorable, Shami will play for Bengal’s Ranji Team against Karnataka in Bengaluru both on November 6 and on November 13 against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. If he is cleared air about the extent of his readiness in the event that there is a match in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy involving Shami, which starts after a few days from now, the Indian team may be joined by Shami even in the middle of the third game in Brisbane.
“Indeed, it has come to our ears that Shami is likely to be back in the Bengal squad for the Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka, as the team would be travelling to Bengaluru, where he has been attuned for training, preparing himself for his utmost and doing his bowling sessions at the NCA. It is their hope that the one consistent in their training camp, will be able to compose himself and be ready to face the match against the team from Karnataka, scheduled for November 6.”
“In terms of what the NCA personnel could look into when it comes to him, NCA could look at the amount of time and the number of overs he spends in bowling, and the recovery stage after staying in the rounds or rather days of performing during all four days of the Ranji Trophy matches. Provided all the processes that deal with him are positive, then one might expect him to be seen with the Indian squad from the Brisbane Test which will be played from December 14-18,” the source said regarding the ongoing developments.
Last competitive cricket she played was with the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup devolving on November 19, 2023, against the Australian side in Ahmedabad, where Shami uma who relies on good speed & maintaining an upright seam position for reverse swing with the old ball last featured.
He later safely checked into a hospital in London on 26, February of this year and had tendons on his right achilles heels fixed and since has been at the NCA for the rehabilitation and recovery programme before easing back to training and practice on the bowling arena.
Shami played an instrumental role in India’s historic victory in the Test series in Australia in 2018/19. He took 16 wickets in four Tests, at an average of 26.18. While he did not feature again until the Adelaide Test of the 2020/21 series due to a broken right forearm, India clinched a memorable series victory of 2-1.
For the Rohit Sharma-led side, who lost a series to New Zealand last week with a 113 run defeat in the second test match played in Pune, any possible return and addition of the player would be good news.
New Zealand ‘s win led to the termination of India’s 18 match consecutive series winning streak at home and thus to remain in contention of reaching the 2025 World Test Championship final, the country is left with no choice but to win four out of their last six Tests.
