The biggest speculation among the Indian team at the moment is whether they could get back their premier fast bowler, Mohammed Shami, fit enough before the upcoming five-match Test series in Australia during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. The veteran will be eager to make his progress back into the side after recovering from injury.
The last international game for Mohammed Shami came during the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup at home, where he faced Australia and finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker. In the case of the red-ball format, the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final against the same opponent was his last.
Since then, he was selected for the South Africa trip but later was taken away. In February 2024, the fast bowler had a successful surgery on his knees, which pushed him to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the home Test series against England, and the T20 World Cup 2024.
Mohammed Shami was supposed to return for the home Test series against Bangladesh, but a new injury, as the Indian captain Rohit Sharma revealed backfired the whole strategy. Later, the reports claimed that the bowler is expected to be part of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 for a couple of fixtures.
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The experienced bowler highlighted how he wanted to reach a position where he would be confident enough to bowl around 20-25 overs in a day before taking the plane to the land of Steve Smith and Manus Labuschagne.
Bengal coach hopeful for the probable return of Mohammed Shami
The past reports claimed that the pacer is expected to be back for the first two encounters of the Ranji Trophy against Uttar Pradesh and Keralan, but that hasn’t been possible. However, they are hopeful of the 34-year-old turning up in their two away fixtures in Bengaluru and Indore.
“He is not available for this match (vs Kerala), but we are hopeful that Shami will join us for games against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.” The Bengal coach, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, has interacted with ‘The Indian Express.’
When it comes to his record in the longest format of the game, Mohammed Shami has picked up 229 wickets in 122 innings at an average of under 28 and a strike rate of around eight overs, with the help of six five-wicket hauls at a best bowling innings of 6/56.
Shukla remains optimistic about getting his services for the team, besides addressing how important a player he would be for the Blue Brigade on those bouncy conditions down under.
“He (Mohammed Shami) is a valuable player for India and the team, his service will be required for the Australia series. Recently, he mentioned how keen he is about playing a couple of Ranji games for Bengal before traveling to Australia. Good outings in the Ranji Trophy will be good for him ahead of the Australia tour and will be a big boost for us our four key players are playing for India and India A.” The former Bengal all-rounder expressed.
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With him making his travel with the Bengal side for the Ranji Trophy, the BCCI will be keeping a sharp eye on his fitness and how many overs he would be allowed to bowl in a day’s play. The premier pacer is expected to return for the second half of the series in Australia.
The Indian captain also addressed how they have been keeping a close eye on the progress of the pacer but don’t want to carry an undercooked bowler for such an important series, which starts on November 22 in Perth.