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Shami, who has 229 wickets to his name in 64 Tests, last played a red-ball match for India in June 2023 against Australia at The Oval.
Mohammed Shami hasn’t played a Test match for India since June 2023. (Picture Credit: AP)
Star Indian pacer Mohammed Shami, who picked up seven wickets in his comeback Ranji Trophy match for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh a couple of weeks ago after remaining on the sidelines for almost an year due to injury-related issues, is unlikely to travel to Australia anytime soon. According to a report in the Times of India on Wednesday (November 27), contrary to the speculation of Shami’s inclusion in the Indian team of the remaining four matches of the Test series between India and Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not planning to fly Shami to Australia in the near future.
Shami is playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy for Bengal these days, and in the two matches played so far, he has picked up four wickets. He finished with figures of 1/46 in four overs during Bengal’s tournament opener against Punjab and then dismissed three Hyderabadi batters for 21 in 3.3 overs during the second match played in Rajkot on November 25.
As per the available information, there has been no conversation around flying Shami to Australia right now, as the board is happy with the performance of fast bowlers picked in the squad for the five-match series.
“There has been no conversation around trying to send Shami to Australia, at least for now. At the moment, the fast bowlers chosen for the tour and the first XI in the opening Test at Perth are doing their job very well,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying.
In the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won by 295 runs in Perth on Monday (November 25), Indian fast bowlers led by stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah picked up a total of 18 wickets in the match. Bumrah dismissed 8 (5+3) batters, and Mohammed Siraj finished the match with a total of five wickets (2+3) to his name.
On his international debut for India, 22-year-old pacer Harshit Rana picked up three wickets in the first inning and one in the second, whereas Andhra all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy also picked up one wicket in the second inning.
Apart from the three pacers that featured in the playing XI of the first Test, India has the likes of Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna in the squad.
