NEW DELHI: Former India head coach and cricketer Ravi Shastri voiced his opinion on not bringing Mohammed Shami to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shashtri was speaking to ICC Review.
Shami’s road to recovery has been filled with ups and downs. Since last representing India in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, the experienced seamer has been on the sidelines recovering from his ankle surgery.
He returned to competitive cricket for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and returned with match figures of 7/156 against Madhya Pradesh with his searing spell.
Shami continued to toil for match fitness after successfully recovering from his right heel surgery. However, he faced a minor setback after experiencing minor swelling in his left knee due to increased joint loading from his bowling workload.
Even though there were concerns about Shami’s fitness and lack of game-time, India certainly missed Shami’s presence in its relatively inexperienced pace-bowling lineup.
Shastri felt India should have taken Shami to Australia and ensured that his rehabilitation was done with the team during the tour.
“I would have kept him part of the team and made sure that his rehabilitation was done with the team. And then if we thought by the third Test match that no, this guy can’t play the rest of the series, I would let him go,” Shastri said in the ICC Review.
“But I would have brought him with the team, kept him, monitored him with the best of the physios and best of the advice even from international physios who are in Australia and seeing how he went. But I would have kept him in the mix,” he added.
Shami’s incapability to participate in the recently concluded BGT was confirmed before the fourth Test in Melbourne. Shastri has been left perplexed by the way BCCI’s medical team has handled communication regarding Shami’s development.
Shastri strongly feels that Shami’s availability in the final two Tests of the series could have tilted the balance in India’s favour.
“Absolutely, there’s no question about that. To be honest, I was very surprised with the communication going on in the media as to what exactly happened to Mohammed Sham,” he said.
“Where is he when it comes to recovery? He’s been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long. Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia,” he added. (ANI)
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