Mohammed Shami is still struggling to get fully fit and a latest setback could further delay his competitive comeback. India Test captain Rohit Sharma has provided a major update on Shami’s fitness status confirming that the seasoned bowler has swelling in his knees which means he’s not a certainty for the upcoming tour of Australia.
“To be honest, it is difficult to make a call on him for 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,” Rohit said.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed, we want him to be 100 per cent fit. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia, that is not going to be the right decision for us. 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,” he noted.
“We want to give him enough time to recover and be 100 per cent fit. The physios, the trainers, the doctors have set a roadmap for him. He is supposed to play a couple of (practice) games before he plays international cricket,” he added.
Shami has played 64 Tests for India, taking 229 wickets at an impressive average of 27.71. India will play five Tests in Australia starting November 22.
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Shami’s last competitive game was the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Reportedly, he played the entire tournament by taking injections to manage an ankle injury for which he eventually underwent a surgery. He has missed several important competitions including South Africa tour, home Test series against England, IPL 2024, T20 World Cup 2024 among others while recovering from the injury.
India chief of selector Ajit Agarkar earlier said that they hoped Shami will be back to full fitness for the Bangladesh Test series last month but the 34-year-old wasn’t deemed fit enough and is also sitting out from the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand starting tomorrow.
Shami had earlier denied reports claiming his knee injury has flared up while recovering at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. “Why these type of baseless rumors? I’m working hard and trying my level best to recover. Neither the BCCI nor me have mentioned that I am out of the Border Gavaskar series. I request the public to stop paying attention to such news from unofficial sources. Please stop and don’t spread such fake fake fake & fake news, especially without my statement,” Shami posted on X (formerly Twitter).
In Shami’s absence, India have given Test debut to right-arm pacer Akash Deep who has done an admirable job with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj spearheading the pace attack.
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