India skipper Virat Kohli has revealed Mohammed Shami’s lack of match practice had prompted the team management to not include the latter in the playing eleven for the Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan on last Sunday (June 4).

The defending champions had sprung a big surprise when they did not pick the Bengal pacer in the team after his brilliant performances in the two warm-up games prior to the Champions Trophy. In the first warm-up game against New Zealand, he took three for 47, as the Men in Blue bowled the Black Caps out for a paltry 189 while in the second practice tie against Bangladesh, he managed to take just a solitary wicket but conceded only 17 runs in six overs.

However, the Indian team preferred the in-form trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah who are playing regularly and had also enjoyed good outings in the Indian Premier League.

“Shami has not played 50-over cricket for a long time and I am glad he bowled really well in the practice games. But I felt the others – Umesh, Bhuvi and Bumrah – had much more match practice and had the performances to back that up,” Kohli said at the pre-match press conference on the eve of their clash against Sri Lanka.

Shami, meanwhile, has not played an ODI game since the semifinal of the 2015 World Cup. Kohli further assured that the 27-year old bowler will always be in the mix and even called him an asset to the team.

But at the same time, the skipper hinted that Shami is unlikely to play against Sri Lanka and insisted that the Pacer will return to the team only if one of the frontline bowler gets injured.

“A bowler like Shami will always be in the scheme of things for us. He is the sort of guy who can win you games in any form of cricket. He is feeling his way back in and is certainly an asset. If God forbid, something happens to someone, we have someone like Shami who’s ready to strike and has proven himself. That just shows our bench strength,” Kohli said.