India in recent times has been producing some great fast bowlers. Over the past decade Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, and Kapil Dev were the only pacers who shined for the Indian team. The quality of cricket has also changed; in the long term, the bowlers have developed better prowess. Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s best all-format bowler for a few years. He recently got the No.1 rank in the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Ranking.
The pace bowling trio of the Men in Blue, Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami, destroyed every opponent in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 and the Test Series as well. However, Shami has been out of action since the ODI World Cup 2023. He picked up an ankle injury. He underwent a surgery earlier this year. Now has been going through the recovery process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Nitin Patel, the head of sports science there is helping the 34-year-old pacer to get back to his original shape before making a comeback to the Indian side. The pacer was confident of returning to competitive cricket after two Ranji Trophy matches for Bengal. However, that does not seem possible at this time because he has been said to have incurred swelling in his ankle area.
Mohammed Shami’s return unlikely in Australia series
Will Mohammed Shami ever make a comeback to the Indian Cricket Team? With the ankle once again swollen. He could be on the sideline for the next few weeks. It will be a huge loss for the Indian Team as well. They travel to Australia in a few months for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shami’s pace, swing, and bounce would have been lethal in the Aussies pitches.
India’s first Test against Australia begins on November 22 in Perth. Captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir would undoubtedly like Shami to be part of India’s bowling attack in the five-Test series against the Kangaroos. There is a lot of the strength of India’s pace attack. But Shami’s expertise is always valuable for the team, especially in Australia.
