On the eve of the opening Test between India and New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the home captain Rohit Sharma was asked to give an update on Mohammad Shami, the premier pacer of the side, who hadn’t been in action since the final of the Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 against Australia.
Mohammad Shami was included in the Indian side for their two-match Test series in South Africa before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ruled him out of the series. The pacer couldn’t take part at home during the five-match red-ball series against England before missing the entire Indian Premier League, followed by the Men’s T20 World Cup.
The reports claimed that the Bengal pacer was anticipated to make his return for the home Test series against Bangladesh, but his injury news circulated, and the selectors wanted to offer him an extended period of break to get fit for the upcoming five-match Test series down under for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Mohammad Shami gives positive sign to India after starting his bowling
The news reported that the pacer has picked up a new injury on his knees, which could destroy his chances to be part of the Australia series, at least for the first couple of games. Rohit Sharma confirmed that they won’t be thinking of carrying an undercooked bowler for such a big series.
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“To be honest, it is difficult to make a call on him (Mohammad Shami) for the Australia series. He had a setback and had swelling in his knees. That put him back a little bit and had to start again. He’s at the NCA with doctors and physios. We don’t want to bring undercooked Shami to Australia. We are keeping our fingers crossed.” The Nagpur-born expressed at the pre-match presser before the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand.
When it comes to facing this opponent, the fast bowler has done an excellent job. In 12 games against the Aussies, he has picked up 44 wickets at an average of 32 and a strike rate of 53, shouldering on two five-wicket hauls with a best bowling figure of 6/56.
Even in that country, Mohammad Shami has captured 31 wickets in eight games at an average of 32 and a strike rate of nine overs with the help of two five-wicket hauls, shouldering on the best spell of 6/56.
“He was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100 percent, he had swelling in his knee, that put him back a little bit in his recovery. So, he had to start again. Right now, he’s at NCA, he’s working with the physios and the doctors at NCA.” Rohit Sharma highlighted during the presser.
The recent pictures of Revsportz have displayed that the pacer has started his bowling at full tilt under the attention of Troy Cooley and Nitin Patel. If everything goes well, he could be part of the Test match against New Zealand or feature in one of the practice games.
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“We are keeping our fingers crossed, we want him to be 100 percent fit. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Mohammad Shami to Australia, that is not going to be the right decision for us.” The World Cup-winning captain concluded. “It is quite tough for a fast bowler, having missed so much of cricket, and then suddenly to come out and be at his best, it is not ideal.”
The veteran could end up playing a few practice games before making it to the Australia series.