On Sunday (December 8), Indian captain Rohit Sharma delivered an update on Mohammad Shami's participation in India's team for the final three Tests of the upcoming five-match series against Australia.  

There had been suggestions for Shami to be included in India's Test squad after Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj failed to impress in the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test, which India lost by 10 wickets in three days on Sunday.

While speaking to reporters during the post-match press conference in Adelaide, Rohit said that the door is very much open for Shami to come and play in Australia.

However, he also provided a concerning update regarding the star pacer, stating that the right-arm fast bowler experienced swelling in his knees while playing for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

“Definitely, the door is very much open. But we’re just monitoring him because while playing Syed Mushtaq Ali (Trophy), he again got some swelling in his knee, which obviously hampers his preparation to come and play a Test match," Rohit said when asked about Shami’s chances of playing in the ongoing Test series.

“We want to be very, very careful. We don’t want to bring him (Shami) here in a situation where he plays and then he pulls up sore or something happens. We want to be more than 100 percent sure with him because it’s been such a long time since he’s played cricket. And to be fair to him, we don’t want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team,” he added. 

Shami had last played international cricket for India in 2023, in the final of the ICC World Cup in Ahmedabad. He then went to rehab and subsequently surgery for his ankle issue and missed quite a lot of cricket.

He made his comeback for Bengal in Ranji Trophy 2024 and picked 7 wickets on his return. He has also played 7 games of SMAT 2024 for Bengal and has taken 8 wickets.

According to Rohit, the BCCI's medical team is watching Shami, and team management will make a decision on his involvement after meeting with them.

“There are some professionals who are monitoring him. They (BCCI’s medical team) are there with him, and we will take the call based on what those guys feel there. Because they are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. So, we just have to be very, very careful. But again, like I said, that door is very much open for him to come and play anytime,” Rohit said.

India will next play Australia in the third Test of the BGT 2024 in Brisbane from December 14.