When the Indian T20I squad for the five-match series was announced, Mohammed Shami’s inclusion was one of the big talking points. The veteran fast bowler was making a comeback to international cricket after a gap of 15 months.
He underwent ankle surgery after the 2023 World Cup which kept him out of action. Shami was expected to make a comeback much earlier but knee troubles pushed it back. All eyes were constantly on his fitness and rehab with India playing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But Shami couldn’t get fully fit for the big series in Australia and missed the cut.
The 34-year-old pacer has played quite a bit of domestic cricket (all three formats) in a bid to prove his fitness. However, the Indian think tank decided to leave him out of the first T20I against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
India opted to go in with three spinners with just one frontline pace option in Arshdeep Singh along with two pace-bowling all-rounders (Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy).
However, it is something that didn’t go down well with former India cricketer and current commentator Aakash Chopra. He feels that Shami should’ve played straight away and if the management left him out, it means he is not 100% fit.
“Please don’t give me that [team combination as the reason]. Just cut the thing and play Shami. I am a little worried. Four matches are left but the turnarounds are quick. Travelling also takes a toll. You might go in chartered flights but it’s tough. He couldn’t play the match. It means he is still not fully fit, and that is a thing we should be worried about,” Aakash Chopra was quoted saying on his YouTube channel.
All those three spinners are doing a wonderful job: Suryakumar Yadav

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav admitted that they wanted to stick to their strengths and play with an extra spinner.
“We wanted to stick to our strengths. We did the same thing when we played in South Africa. Hardik took the responsibility of bowling with the new ball. So, I had a little bit of cushion to play that extra spinner and all those three are doing a wonderful job,” Suryakumar Yadav was quoted saying in the post-match presentation.
The next game is on the 25th of January in Chennai where the spinners usually get good assistance. Thus, it’ll be interesting to see if India play Shami there or wait for the last three T20Is which are scheduled to be played in Rajkot, Pune and Mumbai.
Shami has not played a T20I since India lost to England in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. His last international appearance was in November 2023 in the final of the 2023 World Cup.