Mohammed Shami is one of India’s best white-ball bowler and there’s no debate about it. But it has now been over a year since the pacer featured in an international game for the Men in Blue across all formats. The reason? He is yet to receive clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) over his fitness. While India are pinning their hopes on Shami to return to action for ICC Champions Trophy 2025, it might not be the best thing for the team to do, at least not now.
India have strong back-up for Shami in CT 2025
Shami last played for India in the ODI World Cup in 2023. After playing the entire tournament while carrying an injury, the veteran underwent an ankle surgery in early 2024 and was recovering at the NCA for more than three months. While he was expected to make his comeback in the IND vs AUS Test series, he failed to do so after not being able to fully recover from his injury while developing other complications as well. He played for Bengal in a couple of Ranji Trophy matches following which he also featured in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
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Despite making his comeback to competitive cricket, Shami is yet to receive clearance from the NCA that he 100% injury free and is fully fit. The BCCI’s medical team, as informed by skipper Rohit Sharma, is closely monitoring the progress of the pacer. In such a case, it would be unwise for India to be highly dependent on the pacer.
Firstly, he hasn’t featured in an international match since November 2023. Pushing him to appear directly in Champions Trophy 2025 could backfire for India, given that there remains a question mark on his form and ability to strike at will as before. Secondly, Shami’s history of injuries is not something new and therefore the Men in Blue will only be risking the pacer’s career by forcing him into the side for the 50-over format tournament.
| Mat | Balls | Wkts | Ave | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | 4985 | 195 | 23.68 | 5.55 |
What India’s pace line-up looks like sans Shami
Now, India do have a strong bowling line-up sans Shami. The seasoned duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj can spearhead the attack for the side, and have enough experience to terrorize the opposition with their ability to bowl variety of deliveries. There’s Arshdeep Singh next, who is touted to be India’s next leading pacer in white-ball formats. Harshit Rana, Khaleel Ahmed and Vaibhav Arora are also a part of India’s back-up options for Shami, should the latter miss out on the tournament. With the aforementioned pacers having the ability to make the Indian bowling attack look formidable, there seems to be no reason why the team should take a risky gamble by fielding Shami in Champions Trophy 2025.
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