The India Cricket Team has been hit with a massive roadblock. Ace pacer Mohammed Shami who has been recovering from his ankle injury has got injured during training. This means, that his return to complete fitness has been further delayed. Shami last played for India in the ODI World Cup final in November of 2023. If Shami fails to recover in time for the IND vs AUS Test series, then Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are next in line to travel to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Mohammed Shami has been undergoing his recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Latest reports reveal that the ace pacer has developed swollen knees. Now this injury can further delay his clearance from the NCA for at least 6-8 weeks. This means that Shami is now facing a race against time to return for the BGT.
Who can be replacements for Mohammed Shami?
Should Shami not recover in time for the India vs Australia Test series, then India do have a couple of back up options in their hand. While the BCCI Selection Committee is yet to take any decision on Shami’s injury, but there will be a delay in his recovery. Initially, it was believed that Shami would play at least 1 Ranji Trophy match before traveling to Australia.
“Shami had resumed bowling and was on trak to make his return to competitive cricket soon. But his knee injury has flared up recently. BCCI’s medical team is assessing the injury but it may require a bit of time,” a BCCI source told Times of India.
Akash Deep is on the frontline to make it to the land of Down Under. After making his debut earlier this year against England, he featured in both Test matches of the IND vs BAN Test series and has been quite good. His tendency to hit the deck hard would be extremely crucial in Australia where pitches favour uneven pace and bounce.
The other option is the left arm pacer, Arshdeep Singh. Though predominantly, Arshdeep Singh is used in white ball cricket, but the Indian Cricket Team lacks a left arm pacer. And that is where Arshdeep makes the cut. Despite having the knack of picking regular wickets, Arshdeep can also turn the ball when it’s new which will surely trouble the batters in the foreign soil.
