Indian National Cricket Team superstar fast bowler Muhammad Shami The upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy is all set to make a comeback in the third Test against the Australian National Cricket Team in 2024-25.
Mohammed Shami is likely to play his first international match after the ODI World Cup 2023 at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba in Brisbane starting on December 14.
Mohammad Shami was not included in the Indian squad for the tour of Australia
Mohammed Shami has not been included in the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. There are only eight pacers in the squad, including the substitutes, but Shami was not selected.
Casprit Bumrah will lead the pace bowling attack with Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana in the main squad and Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini in the reserves.
The Bumrah-led pace attack doesn’t look threatening, but the addition of Mohammed Shami will change things completely. Shami, who underwent surgery in London on February 26 to fix a problem with his right Achilles tendon, is currently recovering.
He gradually returned to bowling and was spotted bowling by Abhishek Nayar, the assistant coach of the Indian National Cricket Team, after the Bengaluru Test between India and New Zealand.
Notably, Shami was initially expected to feature in the home Test series against Bangladesh or New Zealand, but his recent knee injury has delayed his return.
Yes, we hear Mohammad Shami might join Bengal squad for Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka – Sources
According to IANS sources, Mohammed Shami is all set to return to competitive cricket through Ranji Trophy 2024. He is likely to play two matches against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh starting on November 6 and 13.
If all goes according to plan and he is fully fit, Shami will go straight to Australia and feature in India’s XI from the third Test onwards.
“Yes, we have heard that Shami might join the Bengal team for the Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka as the side will come to Bengaluru where he is already training, getting his best and taking bowling practice at NCA. Everyone around him is working hard to make sure that he plays the game against Karnataka from November 6 onwards.
“The parameters that the NCA people will be able to observe for him will be around the number of wickets he takes and how he recovers after being out for a day or even four days of Ranji Trophy games. If all the processes regarding him go well, we can probably see him with the Indian team from the December 14-18 Brisbane Test,” said a source familiar with the developments.
Mohammad Shami’s return will be a big boost
Shami’s return would be a huge boost for the Indian team, which recently suffered a shock Test series defeat against New Zealand at home.
In the first Test in Bengaluru, India lost to New Zealand by 8 wickets and suffered a 113-run defeat in the second Test. It was the first time in over a decade that India lost a home Test series and their 18-match winning streak was also snapped.
Mohammed Shami’s return will also take some weight off Jasprit Bumrah, who currently does not have a good bowling partnership with Mohammed Siraj.
Shami was instrumental in India’s first Test series win in Australia in 2018/19 as he took 16 wickets in four matches at an average of 26.18.
