Mohammed Shami set to feature in Border-Gavaskar trophy from Boxing-Day Test in Melbourne: Report
Mohammed Shami has not played for India since the ODI World Cup 2023 semifinal due to an ankle injury. He has returned to competitive action in the domestic arena and is now reportedly set to make his India comeback in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In a major development for the Indian team during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy is that star pacer Mohammed Shami is all set to make an International return. Shami, who is currently featuring in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Bengal, is set to play in the last two Test matches of the ongoing series against the Aussies, PTI reported.
The news agency added that Shami's kit has already been dispatched to Australia and a fitness clearance from the National Cricket Academy is just a "matter of formality". A source said that his fitness certificate will be arriving soon.
"Shami's India kit has already been dispatched to Australia. He will complete the Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 assignment and then leave," the source told PTI.
Shami's Bengal team has qualified for the knockouts which will take place in Bengaluru and Alur. The NCA is also located in Bengaluru and it is likely that NCA medical team head Dr Nitin Patel and Strength and Conditioning trainer Nishant Bordoloi would assess him after the end of Bengal's campaign in the Domestic T20 tournament.
Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla also opened up on Shami's availability. "Shami will be playing the pre-quarterfinal for us against Chandigarh. He will join us in Bengaluru by tomorrow. However, I am not sure if he will be available if we qualify for quarters or go the distance. Guess he will be fit and available for the last two Australia Tests," Shukla told PTI.
"He has already shed around six kilograms of body weight. He has played seven T20 games in 13 days. If he plays pre-quarters it will be eight games in 16 days. Shami himself wanted to play a fair amount of domestic cricket and inform NCA how his body reacts," Shukla added.
India are currently facing Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy where the two teams are facing each other in the second Test of the five-match series. The two teams are set to face each other in the third Test in Brisbane from December 14 onwards. The last two matches will take place in Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7).