Amidst calls for Mohammed Shami’s return to the Indian team in Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), a report stating India pacer’s rift with captain Rohit Sharma has created quite a buzz. Following Indian bowlers’ lackluster show save Jasprit Bumrah in the second Test in Adelaide, calls for Shami’s inclusion in the Indian team has gotten louder as it would strengthen the pace attack in the final three Tests against Australia.
Coming off after a year-long injury lay-off, Shami returned to competitive cricket for Bengal with a seven-wicket match haul against Madhya Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy game. Post that, the 34-year-old played eight matches in 16 days in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy (SMAT), thus proving his match fitness.
However, in between all these, a report on Shami vs Rohit indicates all is not well in the Indian dressing room. Based on a Dainik Jagran report, Rohit met Shami at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in the middle of the Test series against New Zealand and didn’t had a smooth conversation.
“When Shami was at NCA, he met Rohit during the 1st Test in Bengaluru. During their meeting, the two had a heated exchange over the captain’s remark on Shami when asked about his current status and availability for the New Zealand and Australia Test series,” the media outlet quoted a source as saying.
This was after Rohit stated, “He recently had a setback – he had a swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual. He was in the process of getting fit – getting close to 100% – and he had a swelling in his knee. That put him back a little bit in his recovery, so he had to start again fresh,” on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru.
This was after Shami took to social media to quash all reports of him not 100 per cent fit.
Will Mohammed Shami play against Australia?
Meanwhile, PTI reported that Shami is set to play in the final two Tests against Australia in Melbourne and Sydney as his playing kit has already headed Down Under. The fitness clearance on Shami from the NCA is just a formality.
With the third Test in Brisbane starts from December 14, Shami is expected to be seen in Melbourne on the Boxing Day Test which starts on December 26.
