Indian cricket team fans, you might just have to throw away any fantasies of seeing Mohammed Shami run hard and make his much-awaited international comeback in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). According to reports, Bengal would field Mohammed Shami in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024–25, which gets underway on December 21. With this, it is now improbable that Shami would fly to Australia to play for India in the remaining BGT series.
Vijay Hazare Trophy means no BGT for Mohammed Shami
Shami underwent a surge after his heroics at the ODI World Cup 2023. Last month, Shami made his sensational return to competitive cricket after recovering from the knee injury while playing for Bengal during the current Indian domestic season.
According to a Revsportz journalist, Shami will be included in Bengal’s squad for India’s premier domestic 50-over tournament. Shami played the entire Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) recently, taking 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.86 across nine innings in the tourney.
Should Shami be drafted into the Indian team for BGT?
Shami was initially supposed to be a part of the BGT, but the BCCI Medical team decided to think otherwise. The ace pacer has been under constant observation by the team. Shami was also instructed to lose weight and attain 100% fitness before joining the India team. Speaking at a press conference at the loss at the Adelaide Test, even skipper Rohit Sharma made it clear that while the door for Shami is open, they want to be cautious before drafting him into the team.
Rohit said, “The door is very much open (for Mohammed Shami). But we are just monitoring him, because while playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he got some swelling in his knee. It obviously hampers his preparation to come and play a Test match here. We want to be very, very careful and don’t want to be in that situation where we bring him for a game and then he pulls up sore. We want to be more than 100% sure with him.”
These quotes suggest that the Indian management would not even allow a 99% fit Shami in Australia. In fact, Shami has been under scanner on a day-to-day basis. Given how wearisome bowling it is to bowl in a Test match, that too, in a high-octane BGT series, Shami should be preserved. Yes, he has shone well in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy so far, but Test cricket is a different ball game. Once the 34-year-old looks in menacing touch, the team could ponder over him. Till then, the current BGT squad already boasts several pace options in the likes of Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana.
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