India cricket team Test captain Shubman Gill has justified Mohammed Shami’s exclusion from the squad for the IND vs SA Tests. Despite taking 15 wickets in three Ranji Trophy games, the out of favour veteran pacer was yet again left out of the squad, casting aspersions on his future in Tests. Ahead of the IND vs SA 1st Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Gill spilt the beans on the logic behind snubbing Shami.
Gill explains why Shami isn’t part of IND vs SA Tests
Speaking to reporters ahead of the IND vs SA 1st Test, Gill pinned the blame on selectors for ignoring Shami from the Test squad. The Indian Test captain backed his current crop of bowlers to do the job, giving special shoutouts to Bumrah, Siraj, Akash Deep and Krishna. He said that while it was unfortunate for Shami to miss the series, it lies with the hands of the selectors whether they will want the services of the pacer in the future.
“I think a bowler of his quality is very few in the country. But you have to take into consideration the bowlers that are playing right now, they have done such a terrific job. And, you can’t ignore the performances of someone like Akash Deep or someone like a Prasidh Krishna. And we all know what Bumrah and Siraj have been doing in Test cricket. And sometimes it is very difficult that players like Shami (bhai) have to miss. The selectors would be able to give you a better answer to that,” Gill said.
Shami returned to international cricket earlier this year in January after spending over a year on the sidelines, primarily due to an ankle injury. His performance in the IPL was severly criticised, due to his lack of consistency in terms of pace and length. He was eventually left out of the squad for the IND vs ENG series and subsequently wasn’t considrerd for the series against WI or SA either.
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