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Shami has not played an international game since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia as he has been nursing an ankle injury. Now he has been working on his fitness to ensure that he is ready for Test cricket byShami has not played…Read More
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. (Picture Credit: BCCI)
The former India Head Coach and now commentator, Ravi Shastri emphasised that India needs to get Mohammed Shami back into the squad to lessen the load on the pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Shami has not played an international game since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia as he has been nursing an ankle injury. Now he has been working on his fitness to ensure that he is ready for Test cricket by taking part in domestic cricket, representing Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and now the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
“The quicker Mohammed Shami reaches here, (the) better (it is) for India. He is playing a lot of domestic matches,” Shastri said during commentary on day two of the second Test here, as quoted by PTI.
“You can see the pressure (on the opposition) when Bumrah is bowling and others are bowling. There is a lot of pressure on Bumrah,” he added.
Bumrah led India’s charge in the Perth Test after a disappointing first-innings batting display by taking a five-wicket haul to turn the tides in their favour. Their batting then followed it up with a fine performance led by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli as they went on to take the win by 280 runs.
But in the second Test, Bumrah was mostly struggling on his own and lacked a good pacer to partner his quality. Both Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana seemed to miss the mark when it came to their lines and lengths which meant that the Aussies took the first-innings lead on the second day.
With Shami’s return in the works, a recent report by Cricbuzz suggested his return would only likely be possible for the fourth or fifth Test in Melbourne or Sydney.
“Brisbane might be too early but surely (Shami can be available for) Melbourne and Sydney,” the 62-year-old said.
India would hope that Shami can make his return as soon as possible after showing positive signs related to his fitness in his recent first-class and T20 games for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
