Mohammed Shami has been a mainstay of the Indian pace battery for over a decade. For fans, it is hard to recall the last time Shami wasn’t a pivotal figure in the Indian squad. But it has been the case since the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Shami endured an ankle injury during the tournament, for which he underwent surgery. It kept him out of action for nearly a year. He returned to action through domestic cricket last month, and will next play the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Bengal, starting December 21.
In Shami’s absence, Jasprit Bumrah has been leading the Indian pace battery, along with Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and even Harshit Rana. The third Test match in Brisbane ended in a draw, courtesy of rain, so when after the match, Rohit Sharma was asked about an update on Shami, the Indian captain responded in his own style.
Rohit Sharma’s update on Mohammed Shami’s return
“About Shami, I think it’s high time somebody from NCA talks about him, where he is rehabbing,” he said.
“Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update. I understand he’s playing a lot of cricket back home, but there have been some complaints about his knee as well. So, look, the last thing you want is the player coming here and then pulling out in the middle of the game. You know what happens when that kind of thing happens.
This is the third time in just over a month that Rohit has been asked about Shami. In all three of his responses thus far, one common narrative has been the uncertainty surrounding him. Every time, he has mentioned that not all is well with Shami’s knees and even though he is bowling full throttle in the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a full clearance is yet to come from the BCCI. As seen with Josh Hazlewood, returning without proper recovery time can do more harm than good, which is why Rohit is not willing to take the risk of playing a half-fit Shami.
“There is no way we want to take that chance unless we are like, not 100 percent, 200 percent sure, we’re not going to take any risk. But yeah, like I said in the last press conference, the door is open if those guys at the NCA feel that he is okay to go and recover and play, we’ll be happy to have him,” he added.
Shami was expected to return during the home Tests vs Bangladesh and New Zealand, but a recurring knee issue at rehab has delayed his comeback.
