India skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday (October 15) shared an update on the condition of senior pacer Mohammad Shami, who has been out of action since the ODI World Cup final in November last year.
Shami underwent an operation on his Achilles tendon earlier this year. As a result, he missed the home Test series against England, followed by the IPL and the T20 World Cup.
The right-arm quick was expected to return to action during the home Test series against New Zealand before travelling with the Indian team to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
However, Rohit revealed the seasoned fast bowler has swelling in his knees which means he’s not a certainty for the upcoming tour of Australia.
“To be honest, it is difficult to make a call on him for Australia series. He had a setback and had swelling in his knees. That put him back a little bit and had to start again. He’s at the NCA with doctors and physios. We don’t want to bring undercooked Shami to Australia. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” Rohit said in a press conference on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand.
Earlier, BCCI selector Ajit Agarkar said they hoped Mohammad Shami will be back to full fitness for the recently held Bangladesh Test series but the 34-year-old wasn’t deemed fit enough and is also sitting out from the New Zealand Test series, starting October 16.
Meanwhile, Shami recently rubbished reports claiming his knee injury has flared up while recovering at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
“Why these type of baseless rumors? I’m working hard and trying my level best to recover. Neither the BCCI nor me have mentioned that I am out of the Border Gavaskar series. I request the public to stop paying attention to such news from unofficial sources. Please stop and don’t spread such fake fake fake & fake news, especially without my statement,” he wrote on X.
In Shami’s absence, India have handed Test cap to right-arm pacer Akash Deep, who has impressed one and all with his exploits and remains a front-runner to travel Down Under.
