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NEW DELHI: Ahead of the first Test versus New Zealand in Bengaluru, India captain Rohit Sharma provided an update on Mohammed Shami and revealed that the seamer, who has been away from cricket since November 2023, has developed “swelling in his knee” and it has “put him back a little bit in his recovery”.
“To be honest, right now it is very difficult for us to make a call on him whether he will be fit for this series or Australia series.He recently had a setback. He had a swelling in his knee, which was quite unusual while he was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100%. That put him back a little bit in his recovery,” said Rohit at the pre-match press-conference.
The Indian skipper further added that they don’t want to take an “undercooked” Shami to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and divulged that the medical team has already put a road map in place for him.
“So he had to start again fresh. Right now, he is at NCA (National Cricket Academy). He is working with the physios, the doctors at NCA. We are keeping our fingers crossed. We want him to be fit. We want him to be 100% fit. More than anything else, we don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That is not going to be the right decision for us.
“It is quite tough for a fast bowler having missed so much of cricket. Then suddenly to come out and be at his best, it is not ideal. We want to give him enough time to recover and be 100% fit. The physios, the trainers, the doctors have set a road map for him. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series. Then take a call at what stage of Australia he will be fit for us,” added Rohit.
The development was first reported by The Times of India on October 2 and it also mentioned the high chances of the 34-year-old taking another “six-eight weeks” to regain fitness. The report created a stir in cricketing circles and Shami took to social media platforms terming it as “baseless rumours”.
He went on to add: “Why these type of baseless rumors? I’m working hard and trying my level best to recover. Neither the BCCI nor me have mentioned that I am out of the Border Gavaskar series. I request the public to stop paying attention to such news from unofficial sources. Please stop and don’t spread such fake fake fake & fake news, especially without my statement.”
Minutes after Shami’s posts, TimesofIndia.com reached out to a senior member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) who backed Shami’s version and reiterated that the seamer’s rehab is very much on track and he’s likely to feature in the three Tests against New Zealand.
Little over a week after all the drama, BCCI named the squad for the New Zealand Tests and Shami’s name was missing. There was no official word from the Indian cricket board on the star’s player’s current situation as he continued to be away from competitive cricket since the 2023 World Cup final in November last year.
A day after the squad announcement, the BCCI official insisted that Shami was very much on track for New Zealand series and it was only after some developments during his rehab that he wasn’t included.
“He was very much on track for New Zealand Tests as of that day. There were some developments during his rehab which tend to happen,” added the official.
Who exactly is not telling the truth?
Shami said all is well, BCCI official said all is well but the Indian captain Rohit Sharma and TOI report on October 2 mention otherwise. It is further understood that Shami is not close to match fitness right now for the gruelling five Tests in Australia and the situation is very much 50-50.
The seamer has been regularly posting rehab videos on social media but the bowling videos have now made way for a lot of gym work in the last few days.
The first Test against Australia, scheduled to begin on November 22, is still over a month away but Shami is clearly in a race against time to regain match fitness before the high-profile series.
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