Mohammed Shami and his fitness have become the talk of the town in recent times. The 34-year-old fast bowler has been recovering from an ankle injury for a year now. However, he seems to have regained full fitness and Sourav Ganguly wants him to fly to Australia immediately.
Shami’s last international outing was in the 2023 World Cup final last year. Since then, he has been on the sidelines. He was supposed to make a comeback earlier in the season but swelling on his knee and complications of the injury pushed it back.
He returned to competitive cricket in Bengal’s recent Ranji Trophy game against Madhya Pradesh. Shami returned with figures of 4/54 & 3/102 in the game. He bowled 19 overs in the first innings before sending down 24.2 overs in the second. With the bat, he struck a crucial 37 in the second innings.
Shami may not have looked at his best but bowled decently on comeback. Hence, former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes he should be on the next flight to Australia, even if he doesn’t play the first Test in Perth which starts on the 22nd of November.
“I will send him to Australia. He doesn’t need to play the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I’ll send him to Australia, even if he misses the Perth Test. He keeps bowling, he should be on the flight, he has bowled today as well. He should be on the next flight to Australia,” Sourav Ganguly was quoted saying to RevSportz.
Shami could fly to Australia after the second Test
Shami was not named in India’s 18-member squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, his childhood coach Mohammed Badruddin revealed that there is a possibility that Shami could join the team after the second Test in Adelaide which is a day-night encounter.
“He will be joining the Indian team after the Adelaide (second) Test. Now that he is back, proved his fitness, picked up wickets, he will be crucial for the team in the second half of the tour,” Mohammed Badruddin was quoted saying to Indian Express.
Shami has played a total of eight Test matches in Australia, taking 31 wickets at an average of 32.16. India’s attack is slightly inexperienced in the absence of Shami. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, no other pacer has the experience of playing in Australia. Even Siraj has travelled to Australia just once and he has not looked at his best. Thus, India have a task on their hand in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
