Former Indian National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra is against top pacer Mohammed Shami’s selection for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Aakash Chopra feels that Mohammed Shami, who has returned to fitness, is still “raw” and it will not be fair to push him to take part in the five-match Test series.

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Mohammed Shami returned to competitive cricket action after a year

Mohammed Shami finally returned to competitive cricket in a big boost for the Indian national cricket team. He played the Ranji Trophy match between Bengal and Madhya Pradesh at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.

The pacer seemed to have a decent touch in the match and reportedly had no fitness issues despite bowling nearly 44 overs in two innings. In the first innings, he bowled 19 overs and gave away 54 runs while picking up 4 wickets. In the second innings, he bowled 24.2 overs and bagged 3 wickets while giving away 102 runs.

Notably, he had suffered an Achilles tendon injury for which he underwent surgery and missed cricket action for almost a year.

He was on course to make a full recovery ahead of the home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. However, his knee problem further delayed his return date and the BCCI selection committee did not include him in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad.

We saw the wickets he took. I would say it is undercooked – Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra stated that Shami seemed “undercooked” on his return to cricket.

“Mohammed Shami has played one (Ranji) match. We couldn’t see much of his bowling because it wasn’t broadcast. We saw the wickets he took. I would say he is undercooked.

“Honestly, we want Shami to be there (in Australia) because Bumrah, Shami, Siraj sound different. In the combination of Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep, we can see a bit of weakness. Lack of experience can be felt,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

If there is a breakdown during the match… – Aakash Chopra

Chopra further stated that pressuring Shami to play Test cricket so early would not be a smart decision and there will be chances of him collapsing in Australia.

“Pushing Shami into Test cricket so early will be a questionable decision because he hasn’t played since last year. You play a match after a year and suddenly put Shami in a Test game, that won’t be fair. If there is a failure during the match or if there is no way, then everyone will wonder ‘why was there so much desperation to play against Shami?'” he said.

Aakash Chopra also highlighted that the wickets in Australia are very different and Mohammed Shami’s chances of getting injured again could increase if he is rushed.

“Secondly, the pitches in Australia are very soft, so there are chances of him getting injured again. I would say Shami should take more time. We all want Shami to play as soon as possible, but we should not rush his return.” Chopra added.