India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar has cleared that he will have to get an update from National Cricket Academy (NCA) to know more on Mohammed Shami's recovery from ankle injury. The fast bowler has returned to bowling after undergoing surgery for the same but it is still not clear if he will be fully fit for the home series against Bangladesh starting from September 19.
For the unversed, Shami hasn't played since the ODI World Cup final that was played on November 19. He went on to miss key Test series against South Africa away from home and England at home and also the T20 World Cup which India won. As far as his current situation is concerned, Agarkar stated that Shami has returned to bowling currently but didn't confirm whether he will be available for the series against Bangladesh.
"We more or less know who the guys are, there are some injuries at the moment and hope they will be back up. Shami has started to bowl, which is a good sign. September 19 is the first Test (against Bangladesh) and that was always the goal. I don't know if that is his timeline for recovery, will have to ask the guys at the NCA about that," Agarkar said in the press conference before the team left for Sri Lanka.
Team India is scheduled to play a total of 10 Tests from September 2024 to January 2025 - two Tests against Bangladesh, three Tests against New Zealand at home and five Tests against Australia away. Ajit Agarkar underlined the importance of having the depth in the bowling attack with so much red-ball cricket coming up.
"There are so many Tests coming. We will need some depth. Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj have been around for a while, these are the obvious ones. But there will be some conversation around it. Got a lot of first-class cricket coming up so we can build guys up like that," Agarkar added.
