New Delhi: Indian pacer Mohammed Shami is reportedly said to feature in a couple of Ranji Trophy matches for the Bengal men’s cricket team before joining India in Australia for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Shami’s participation Down Under for the five Tests has been a matter of subject as the player hasn’t involved in any competitive cricket action since India’s defeat to Australia in the 2023 World Cup final on November 19 last year. In fact, the 34-year-old speedster last played a Test match for India during the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval.
He has been sidelined owing to an ankle injury for which he underwent surgery in February this year. The pacer was recently seen hitting the nets to roll his arms against India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar after India’s first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru.
Shami recently said that he was 100 per cent pain free after recovering from a swelling during his rehabilitation process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
According to a report by The Indian Express, Shami is likely to play for Bengal in their fixtures against Karnataka (November 6-9) and Madhya Pradesh (November 13-16).
“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,” Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla told The Indian Express.
Rohit doesn’t want an undercook Shami
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that the team won’t favour to have an undercooked Mohammed Shami after India lost the first Test against the Black Caps in Bengaluru.
“He has not played any cricket for over a year. It is quite tough for a fast bowler to have missed so much of cricket and then suddenly to come out and be at his best. It is not ideal. We will want to give him enough time to recover and be 100% fit,” Rohit said.
“We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That is not going to be the right decision for us,” he added.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will start on November 22 with the first Test match scheduled to be played at the Perth Stadium.
