Indian Pacer Mohammed Shami won't be added to Team India's squad for the last two Tests due to swelling in his left knee. BCCI released a press release regarding Mohammed Shami's fitness update after being asked by Skipper Rohit Sharma about the fast bowler's progress at the end of the Gabba Test.

The BCCI Medical team has been working closely with Mohammed Shami at the Centre of Excellence on his recovery and rehabilitation after his right heel surgery. Shami has completely recovered from this heel problem.

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BCCI Statement On Medical and Fitness Update of Mohammed Shami

Shami bowled 43 overs in the Ranji Trophy match for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in November. Following this, he played in all nine games of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), where he also engaged in additional bowling sessions on the sidelines to build his bowling volume in order to get ready for the Test matches.

However, his left knee has exhibited minor swelling due to increased joint loading from his bowling workload. The swelling is on the expected lines, owing to the increased bowling after a prolonged period.

Based on the current medical assessment, the BCCI Medical Team has determined that his knee requires more time for controlled exposure to bowling loads. Consequently, he has not been deemed fit for consideration for the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Shami will continue to undergo targeted strength and conditioning work under the guidance of the medical staff at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence and build his bowling loads needed to meet the demands of the longest format of the game. His participation in the Vijay Hazare Trophy will depend on the progress of his knee.

Uttar Pradesh-born Indian pacer Mohammed Shami will be rested ahead of Bengal's opening Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Delhi starting tomorrow in Hyderabad. Shami was originally drafted in the 20-member squad for Bengal for this List-A tournament but will have to wait out of the first game. 

Despite making a resounding return to domestic cricket, Shami is far from regaining his full fitness. Shami's swelling around the ankle region appears to be the main cause of concern for the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. With one eye on a potential return to the India Test squad for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit does not want to take any chances with Shami and wants him to be "200%" fit before he can be considered. 

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Shami under the close supervision of NCA

Shami has been under the close eye of the Centre of Excellence under NCA ever since he underwent ankle surgery in London this February. Following his successful ankle surgery, Shami made a cautious return to the domestic arena and scripted some notable performances for his domestic side. But after a few performances, complaints of his knee problems soon came to light thus giving us an indication that the pacer is not fully ready to hit the ground running just yet.  

Speaking at a press conference after the Gabba Test, Rohit threw light on Shami's ongoing struggles with his ankle and indicated that the management will only take a call on his selection once he proves his full fitness. Moreover, he also expects the medical experts from the NCA to weigh in on this matter and provide him with regular updates on Shami's overall fitness.  

"I understand he's playing a lot of cricket back home, but there have been some complaints about his knee as well. So, there is no way we want to take that chance unless we are like, not 100%, 200% sure, we're not going to take any risk. But yeah, like I said in the last press conference, the door is open if those guys at the NCA feel that he is okay to go and recover and play, we'll be happy to have him."

The road ahead for Mohammed Shami

Upon his return, Shami has been performing actively in the domestic circuit making a handful number of appearances for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was on track to making a comeback in the Bangladesh home test series but aggravated a knee problem while at rehab, which forced the BCCI to err on the side of caution. 

Shami is closely under observation of Nitin Patel, the head of sports science at the Centre of Excellence. Under Patel's leadership, the team has been traveling nationwide to assess his development and keep the management informed of his status.

Should Shami fail to achieve full fitness for the penultimate BGT Test in Melbourne or the final BGT Test commencing on January 3—both of which appear increasingly improbable—his next objective will be to prepare for India's Champions Trophy campaign scheduled for early next year.

We are more than halfway through the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test series with India winning the first, Australia winning the second, and the third ending in a rain-marred draw. Jasprit Bumrah has by far been the most threatening bowler for the hosts to contend with. While he continues to give nightmares to the Australian batters, the rest of the Indian bowling contingent has blown hot and cold in this entire tour so far.

The likes of Rana, Reddy, and Siraj have produced mixed results which do raise a need for another specialist seamer to step in apart from Bumrah. In all fairness, the national side is desperately missing the services of the ace pacer Mohammed Shami who was at the top of his mark in last year's ODI World Cup.

Following his glorious World Cup campaign, Shami had to endure an extended injury layoff which forced him out of major cricketing events including the T20 World Cup. However, the speedster has regained his fitness and made a glorious return to domestic cricket with a four-wicket haul for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.

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Will Shami make an appearance in the Boxing Day Test?

Of late, there have been growing reports to suggest that Shami could well play a role in the upcoming Boxing Day Test starting on December 26 in Melbourne. However, the claim has not been officially confirmed by any major source till now. Speaking at the press conference, the Indian Test skipper Rohit Sharma provided an update on Shami's availability and his potential participation ahead of the third Test. 

“I think it’s high time somebody from NCA talked about him. That’s our national cricket academy where he is rehabilitating. Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update." 

Shami is currently undergoing rehab at the NCA. Rohit is looking forward to receiving instructions from NCA on how they can move forward with his case.

Rohit does not want to risk it with Shami

Shami has been competing in several domestic games back in India and has had resounding success. But the Indian skipper is reluctant to make him go the extra mile if he is not 100% fit. Shami has reportedly faced issues with his knee and Rohit does not want to take any chances unless he gets detailed clarity about Shami's fitness. 

“But look, I understand he’s playing a lot of cricket back home, but there have been some complaints about his knee as well. The last thing you want is the player coming here and then pulling out in the middle of the game. You know what happens when that kind of thing happens."

Shami's fitness is subject to NCA's clearance and it all depends on the evolving needs of India's pace department in the ongoing BGT series which is currently level at 1-1. 

While the Indian team is hoping to see the senior pacer Mohammed Shami in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, the 34-year-old fast bowler has been named in the Bengal squad for the upcoming domestic one-day cricket tournament, the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. 

Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar included in the Bengal squad

The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 will run between December 21, 2024, and January 18, 2025. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has announced the 20-member Bengal squad for the upcoming List A tournament. Indian pacers Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar have been included in the one-day squad.

Mohammed Shami is in good touch

After missing the game for almost a year since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Final due to an ankle injury and recovery from surgery, Shami just returned to the game last month. The right-arm fast bowler started with a Ranji Trophy match, where he claimed seven wickets against Madhya Pradesh (4/54 and 3/102) and also scored crucial 37 runs during his team’s second innings.  

After the first-class match, Shami played nine matches in the domestic T20 tournament, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25. Before their SMAT elimination from the quarter-finals, the right-arm fast bowler picked up 11 wickets. In the preliminary quarter-final, the right-handed lower-order batter scored his highest T20 score, 32 not out off 17 balls, with the help of three fours and two sixes, and Bengal won that match by only three runs. 

While Shami is proving his match fitness, the selectors are not in a mood to rush on him. His presence in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy is still possible, but there is no certain news on it. As the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is also near, the selectors’ slow and steady approach for Shami is quite justifiable.

Bengal’s complete squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25

Sudip Kumar Gharami (Captain), Mohammad Shami, Anustup Majumdar, Abhishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Karan Lal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Sumanta Gupta, Subham Chatterjee, Ranjot Singh Khaira, Pradipta Pramanik, Kaushik Maity, Vikas Singh (senior), Mukesh Kumar, Saksham Chaudhary, Rohit Kumar, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh and Kanishk Seth

The 34-year-old Indian pacer Mohammed Shami rescued Bengal with the bat and played an important role in a thrilling win against Chandigarh in the preliminary quarter-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25. 

Bengal batting faced trouble from the beginning of the innings, and they were losing wickets at regular intervals. Opener Karan Lal (33), no.5 batter Writtick Chatterjee (28), no.8 batter Pradipta Pramanik (30), and no.10 batter Mohammed Shami (32*) reached 20+ runs in that innings.

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Mohammed Shami recorded his highest T20 score

While Shami came to bat at the score of 114/8, the right-handed batter scored the second-highest runs for his team. He scored 32 not out off 17 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes. In the final over of the innings, Shami smashed two sixes and one four off Sandeep Sharma, which helped Bengal to score 159/9 in 20 overs. It was Shami’s highest score in his T20 career. 

During the first innings of the match, the right-arm medium pacer Jagjit Singh took four wickets as he had the bowling figures of 4-0-21-4.

Shami took one wicket in the first over

In reply, Chandigarh batters got some starts, but most of them failed to capitalise. While the innings experienced four 20+ scores, only Raj Bawa (32) reached the 30-run mark. 

After scoring crucial runs, Shami started with the new ball and got the wicket on the third ball of the innings. He dismissed the opener Arslan Khan for a golden duck and later ended with the bowling figures of 4-0-25-1. 

The Player of the Match, right-arm medium pacer Sayan Ghosh, picked up four wickets as he ended with the bowling figures of 4-0-30-4. In the final over, Chandigarh required 11 runs to win the match and had three wickets in hand. Ghosh conceded only seven runs and marked two wickets, including one run out, as Bengal reached the quarter-final by winning the match by only three runs. 

While the Indian bowlers are fighting hard in the Adelaide Test, all eyes are on the update of the fast bowler Mohammed Shami. Can we see him in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia? 

India and Australia are busy in the second Test of the five-match Test series at Adelaide Oval, the only day-night pink ball Test match of the series. After winning the Test series opener by 295 runs at Perth Stadium, where Indian pacers had major roles to claim that historic win, they fought hard during the tough Australia’s first innings of the ongoing pink ball Test. 

The ongoing Adelaide Test has experienced much workload for the Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian Test vice-captain has taken 12 wickets and played a massive role in the Indian bowling line-up. The Adelaide Test has revealed how the visitors are missing Mohammed Shami. Shami’s presence will massively help Team India by taking away the immense pressure from Bumrah.

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Mohammed Shami's kit is also ready

Well, Shami is in Bengaluru for the fitness test. The selection committee is just waiting for Shami’s fitness clearance report. If everything goes well, the right-arm fast bowler will travel to Australia soon.  

A BCCI official said, “The selection committee is waiting for the NCA’s fitness clearance report on Shami. He travelled to Bengaluru to give a fitness test. He played the Ranji Trophy as well as the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, where he looked good. His kit is also ready. We are just waiting for the approval from the NCA.”

Mohammed Shami performed well in domestic cricket

Last November, Mohammed Shami returned to the game after almost a year. It was the Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh, where the Bengal fast bowler picked up seven wickets. He is now busy in the domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he has taken eight wickets in seven games, including two three-fers.

The former Indian captain is confident about the Indian team for the crucial upcoming away Test series against Australia. He is hopeful of Indian batters' performances on the better Australian batting track. 

India recently suffered a shocking 3-0 home Test whitewash against New Zealand. The Blackcaps stunned everyone with their performances, especially when Kane Williamson wasn’t present in all three Tests of that series.

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In Australia, the tracks will be good for batting: Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain and the former BCCI president, feels that the “undercooked” term doesn’t justify the Indian team, as they recently played five home Tests. 

Ganguly told PTI, “Undercooked is a term used when you haven’t played any Test cricket at all. They have just played five Tests in last seven weeks so how does the question even arise?”

Despite the shocking home whitewash in the Test series against New Zealand, Ganguly pointed out the major differences between that home Test series and the upcoming away Test series against Australia.

The former BCCI president added, “I can understand that the defeat against New Zealand was unexpected but you have to understand we played on some extremely difficult tracks. In Australia, the tracks will be good for batting." 

Shubman’s injury is jolt for the team

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, Australia and India will play a five-match Test series, starting on November 22. Perth will host the Test series opener, where the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill can’t participate. Ganguly admitted that Gill’s injury is a jolt for the team, but he has enough faith in the other players.  

Ganguly said, “Shubman’s injury is jolt for the team no doubt as he is an in-form batter and has scored in Australia. A thumb fracture could rule him out for two Tests.

“But I believe the other batters would step up in absence of Rohit (on paternity leave) and Shubman during the first Test. I don’t think New Zealand defeat would have any bearing on this series."

Ganguly on Nitish Kumar Reddy

Talking about the team combination, Ganguly feels that the first Test at Perth and the third Test at Gabba shouldn’t go with two specialist spinners. In these matches, India can use players like the pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who recently played three T20Is during the Bangladesh tour of India last October. 

Ganguly said, “Look, there is absolutely no point in playing two specialist spinners either at Perth (Optus) or at the Gabba (Brisbane). You obviously need to find a way to play Reddy in these conditions. He is a good batsman and coming in at lower middle order, it will lend proper balance to the side." 

Ganguly on Mohammed Shami's return

Meanwhile. Ganguly is very happy with Mohammed Shami’s return to the game after almost a year and feels that the pacer is ready for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

Ganguly claimed, “Shami bowled nearly 45 overs, fielded for more than 100 overs and also scored some runs. That’s a good enough fitness test to be sent to Australia because you need a bowler of his calibre alongside Jasprit Bumrah."

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has announced the Bengal squad for the upcoming domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25. 

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25 will begin on November 23, just one day before the first day of the two-day mega auction for IPL 2025. Just like the other domestic tournaments, it has played a huge role in Indian cricketers’ successes. 

On Monday (November 18), the CAB announced Bengal’s full squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25. While the right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Shami just returned to the game after almost a year, he has been included in the T20 squad. 

When did Mohammed Shami play his last T20 and SMAT matches?

Shami last played a T20 match during the IPL 2023 Final for Gujarat Titans, where the defending champions finished as the runners-up after losing against Chennai Super Kings. Meanwhile, Shami last played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January 2016.  

After playing in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Final against Australia, Shami took almost a year off from the game due to his ankle injury, surgery, and recovery process. 

While Shami’s return to the game was expected earlier, he just started to get back into his familiar rhythm. Finally, the 34-year-old Indian fast bowler just made his comeback in the game during the last Ranji Trophy match against the hosts Madhya Pradesh. 

Shami impressed on his return

Shami took seven wickets against Madhya Pradesh as the right-arm fast bowler took four wickets and three wickets, respectively. In the fourth innings, Shami produced the crucial match-winning delivery to bring some vital points for the team.

Shami not only had contributions with the ball in hand, but he also shined with the bat. During the third innings of the match, Shami scored 37 off 36 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes. His batting ultimately proved valuable for Bengal, who won by 11 runs against Madhya Pradesh. 

The upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25 is very important for the Bengal fast bowler Mohammed Shami. If he manages to maintain a good rhythm, he can be a part of the Indian team in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Indian team is patiently waiting for his international comeback.  

Complete Bengal squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024/25

Sudip Kr Gharami (Captain), Mohammad Shami, Abishek Porel (wk), Sudip Chatterjee, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karan Lal, Writtick Chatterjee, Ritwick Roy Chowdhury, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ranjot Singh Khaira, Prayas Ray Barman, Agniv Pan (wk), Pradipta Pramanik, Saksham Chaudhary, Ishan Porel, Md Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Sayan Ghosh, Kanishk Seth, Soummyadip Mandal

There is still no clarity about Skipper Rohit Sharma's plans to travel to Australia. His wife recently delivered a baby so it is expected that he will leave soon and the exact date is still to be known. Thus it is most likely that he will also miss the series opener and Pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has no immediate plans to send Mohammed Shami to Australia.

Mohammed Shami makes a solid comeback to competitive cricket

The Team India Pacer Mohammed Shami made his return to competitive cricket almost after a year, he played a Ranji trophy game between Madhya Pradesh and Bengal in Indore. Pacer scalped four wickets in the first innings and three wickets in the second innings. Eventually, Bengal won the game by 11 runs. Meanwhile, Team Management suggests that Shami should play more domestic games before being included in the team again. This indicates that Shami might play for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, which starts in about a week.

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The India A Team led by Ruturaj Gaikwad is set to return to India in the next 24 hours. However, Devdutt Padikkal will not accompany them as Team India Management has decided to retain the batter for the senior team, which will compete in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia over the next 50 days.

This decision has to be taken due to injuries and the unavailability of two key players. Top Order batter Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the series opener as he fractured his thumb during a simulation match at WACA. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who stayed back in India for the birth of his second child is also unlikely to be available for the First Test. KL Rahul also had an injury concern after being hit on the elbow, however, some good news from the camp is that KL Rahul batted during the Three-Day match simulation at  WACA on Sunday (17 November).

Devdutt Padikkal showed some resilience against Australia A

Padikkal recorded scores of 36, 88, 26, and 1 in his four recent innings against the Australia A team. Although these performances might not normally earn him a place in the senior national team, the management thinks his experience and knowledge of Australian conditions make him a good choice as a backup batter. Padikkal has been featured in the only Test against England this year. He has featured in T20Is as well.

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami shined on his first-class cricket return as Bengal secured a crucial victory against Madhya Pradesh to climb in the points table. The thrilling match ended with Shami’s success.

After picking four wickets during Madhya Pradesh’s first innings, Mohammed Shami took three wickets in the fourth innings. 

Chasing the 338-run target in the fourth innings, Madhya Pradesh started the fourth day at 150/3.

Mohammed Shami started the fourth day with a wicket

While Shami took one wicket last day by dismissing Anubhav Agarwal (2), he started the final day of the match with a wicket. On the third ball of the day, Shami bowled Rajat Patidar for 32 runs. 

Soon, Shami’s brother Mohammed Kaif took the wicket of Harpreet Singh (7). 

Middle-orders and lower-middle orders frustrated Bengal

Struggling at 161/5, Madhya Pradesh returned to the game with the sixth wicket partnership between the skipper Shubham Sharma (61) and Venkatesh Iyer (53). While both scored half-centuries, they had a partnership of 94 runs.   

However, Madhya Pradesh were under pressure once again after the dismissals of captain Sharma and Iyer in two consecutive overs without adding any runs. 

Aryan Pandey and Saransh Jain frustrated the visitors Bengal as they had a 62-run partnership for the seventh wicket. While Madhya Pradesh were 21 runs away from victory with three wickets in hand, Shahbaz Ahmed and Shami destroyed the hosts' hope by sharing the last three wickets.

Shahbaz dismissed the set batters and Shami took the match-winning wicket

While Shahbaz dismissed both Pandey (22) and Jain (32), Shami took the last wicket by taking the wicket of Kumar Kartikeya (6) as Bengal won by 11 runs. With this win, Bengal climbed the Elite Group C points table with 14 points after five matches. 

Shami also had valuable contribution with the bat

Shami not only took seven wickets, but he also scored quickfire 37 runs off 36 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes in Bengal’s second innings, which proved valuable for the visitors. Before he was stumped out, he had a 29-run last-wicket partnership with his brother Mohammed Kaif.

It is great news for Indian cricket fans as Shami has proved his fitness. While the beginning of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 is less than a week away, we can see fit Shami in the crucial away Test series.