If he does not make it to Australia, India will have to go with a depleted bowling attack, which would be less experienced.
A Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer has suffered a major setback on his road to recovery and will be out of action for a longer period. The player hasn’t played competitive cricket for a while, and just when things seemed to be going in the right direction, another problem arose.
Mohammed Shami, the Indian pacer, developed a swollen knee while rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). According to a TOI report, it will now take six to eight weeks to fully recover, meaning India’s plans to help Shami recover quickly have taken a significant hit.
“Shami had returned to bowling and looked set to return to competitive cricket soon. But this knee injury has recently worsened. The BCCI medical team is assessing the injury, but it may take quite some time,” TOI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
Initially, he was supposed to participate with his national team, Bengal, in the Ranji Trophy, which will begin on October 11. He would later have been included in India’s squad for the five-match Test series against Australia in Australia, starting in Perth on November 22 later this year, but plans were derailed after a new development.
Shami has been out of action since late November last year.
Mohammed Shami has not played competitive cricket since India’s heartbreaking defeat against Australia in the 2023 World Cup final on November 19. He underwent surgery on his Achilles tendon in February, which was successful.
His absence will be a blow for India on their tour of Australia as Shami has previous experience playing there and is immensely skilled. If he does not make it to Australia, India will have to go with a depleted bowling attack, which would be less experienced.
Also Read: RCB Superstar regains top 10 in ICC Test Rankings for batsmen
It will also increase the workload of Jasprit Bumrah, who will have to play more due to Shami’s unavailability. It remains to be seen if India choose to rest him for the New Zealand series at the end of the month.
In Shami’s continued absence, Akash Deep has been given opportunities and has done quite well early in his career. He will play more now, and India will hope they can replicate what Shami did all these years in red-ball cricket.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and YouTube.