There is no clarity yet on senior pacer Mohammad Shami’s availability for India’s upcoming five-Test tour of Australia.
With exactly a month remaining for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Team India are hoping that they get a fully-fit Shami at their disposal for the marquee series.
Shami has not played a single competitive game since his appearance in the ODI World Cup final in November last year. The right-arm quick, who underwent an operation on his Achilles tendon earlier this year, has been working on his recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Shami was tipped to make a return in the ongoing New Zealand Test series, but his road to recovery was impacted as he had developed “swollen knees”.
Meanwhile, a report published in The Indian Express suggests that Shami could be in line for his return to the national side for the second half of the Australia tour.
“It is understood that Shami’s workload will now be gradually increased with the second half of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy being targeted for his comeback,” the report claims.
The positive news is that Shami has started bowling at full tilt and will now look to fine-tune his skills by bowling against batters in the nets and waiting to be cleared to play in a competitive fixture.
According to the report, the next 10 days are important for Shami to regain complete fitness. If his recovery goes as per the plan, he will feature in Bengal’s fourth round Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka in Bengaluru.
“If he continues his recovery, he can play the match against Karnataka. If he plays that fixture, he can even travel with the Indian team to Australia and play the practice fixture and then slowly integrate back into the squad. Since he suffered a setback on his comeback, he has to go through the rehab process again which is now in the final stages,” sources said, as quoted by The Indian Express.
Moreover, Shami has reportedly been told by the India team management and selectors that he needs to play at least one, if not two, Ranji Trophy matches to prove his fitness and regain his bowling rhythm.
“There is a considerable break between the first and second Tests so the workload can be managed. But it is thereafter that India have to manage their resources and if Shami is fit for that period, it will be an advantage,” sources further stated.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 is slated to get underway on November 22 in Perth and the action will then shift to Adelaide (December 6-10), where both teams will face each other in a Day-Night Test. The last three Tests are set to take place in Brisbane (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30), and Sydney (January 3-7).
