The availability of India’s veteran pacer, Mohammed Shami, is yet to be confirmed for India’s upcoming tour of Australia to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, slated to begin on November 22, later this year.
The Indian side will hope that they have all their senior stars fit and in form for the highly anticipated clash against the Australians. But Shami’s return remains a massive doubt. The pacer has not played a single competitive game since his appearance in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad.
He underwent surgery for an issue with his right heel in February, earlier this year. He was tipped to make a return for the ongoing New Zealand Test series, but his road to recovery was halted as he had swelling on his knee, as per Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper.
Adding to this, a report by The Indian Express has revealed that Shami could be in line for his return to the national side for the second half of the Australia series.
“It is understood that Shami’s workload will now be gradually increased with the second half of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy being targeted for his comeback,” the report claims.
The positive news is that the pacer has begun bowling with a full run-up and will now look to sharpen his skills by bowling against batters in the nets and waiting to be cleared to play in a competitive fixture. The pacer would have to improve on his endurance in the longest format, where he would need to bowl roughly 20-25 overs.
Team India will also hope that Shami can make a full recovery and be in tip-top shape to help the side defend their title for a third consecutive tour against the Australians to extend their dominance in the Test rivalry. But the Australian unit will be hungry to maintain their dominance at home and also reclaim the 2024 BGT title.
The tour comprises a five-match Test series, which begins on November 22 at Perth, followed by Adelaide (December 6), Brisbane (December 14), Melbourne (December 26) and Sydney (January 3) respectively.
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