Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, gave a crucial update on Mohammed Shami’s chances of playing in the ongoing BGT 2024-25 series in Australia. Shami’s absence is noticeable in the Indian team’s next Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 match against the Australian National Cricket Team.
While they won the first game easily, they had to work hard in the pink-ball Test, which they lost by 10 wickets. One of the reasons India lost the match was a lack of support for Jasprit Bumrah. Although Mohammed Siraj took a few wickets, the damage had already been done.
It’s fair to argue that if Mohammed Shami had been present, and given his performances, things would have turned out differently.
Mohammad Shami was out of action since the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, where he was the highest wicket-taker with 24 scalps in 7 games. He suffered an ankle injury and underwent surgery for the same. He made his cricketing return in Ranji Trophy 2024 for Bengal, taking 7 wickets in his first match back.
He has also played for Bengal in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy (SMAT 2024) and picked 8 wickets in seven games with a best of 3/21. The pacer is currently monitored by the NCA team, and there have been several reports that he might be there for the last two Tests of the series in Melbourne and Sydney, respectively.
He got some swelling on his knees in SMAT – Rohit Sharma on Mohammed Shami
With little clarification on his availability, Rohit Sharma provided an encouraging but troubling update on Shami. He stated that doors are open for him, but they want to ensure that the pacer is fully functional.
He reiterated that the decision to include the pacer in the squad would be made when the BCCI’s medical team cleared him.
“Definitely. The door is very much open. We are monitoring him. He got some swelling on his knee in SMAT. We don’t want to have a situation where he pulls up in a match. We want to be sure. We don’t want to put pressure on him. The BCCI medical team is monitoring him. We will take a call on what they are saying. We have to be careful. The door is open,” Rohit told reporters.
Rohit Sharma updates Mohammed Shami's fitness and his chances of playing in the latter stages of the series #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/wNfi2e9Ho7
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 8, 2024
“We want to be very, very careful. We don’t want to bring him (Shami) here in a situation where he plays and then he pulls up sore or something happens. We want to be more than 100 percent sure with him because it’s been such a long time since he’s played cricket. And to be fair to him, we don’t want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team,” he added.
NCA team monitoring Mohammed Shami: Rohit Sharma
A team from NCA recently visited Rajkot to evaluate Mohammed Shami’s fitness, which included the director of BCCI’s Sports Science wing (Nitin Patel) and a Strength and Conditioning trainer (Nishant Bardule). More than his performances, they wanted to know if he could handle the arduous grind of a Test match.
According to Rohit, the BCCI’s medical team is watching Shami, and team management will make a decision on his involvement after meeting with them.
“There are some professionals who are monitoring him. They (BCCI’s medical team) are there with him, and we will take the call based on what those guys feel there. Because they are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. So, we just have to be very, very careful. But again, like I said, that door is very much open for him to come and play anytime,” Rohit said.
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