India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, has suggested that Mohammed Shami will probably miss the upcoming Test tour of Australia. Shami is still healing from ankle surgery, and swelling in his knees has delayed his recovery. Rohit said it wouldn’t be a good idea to take Shami if he’s not fully fit for such an important series.
Shami last played for India in the ODI World Cup final last year and has been recovering from ankle surgery since then.
While talking to the media ahead of the first Test of New Zealand, Rohit Sharma said, “To be honest, right now, it’s pretty difficult for us to make a call on him, whether he’ll be fit for this series or Australia series. He recently had swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual.”
“He was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100 per cent, he had swelling in his knee, that put him back a little bit in his recovery. So, he had to start again. Right now, he’s at NCA, he’s working with the physios and the doctors at NCA,” he added.
Rohit mentioned that the team management wants Shami to fully recover before making a comeback to high-level cricket.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed, we want him to be 100 per cent fit. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia, that is not going to be the right decision for us.”
“It is quite tough for a fast bowler, having missed so much of cricket, and then suddenly to come out and be at his best, it is not ideal,” he noted.
Rohit stated that the National Cricket Academy staff will keep monitoring Shami’s fitness, and he might participate in a few internal matches as part of his recovery process.
“We want to give him enough time to recover and be 100 per cent fit. The physios, the trainers, the doctors have set a roadmap for him.”
“He is supposed to play a couple of (practice) games before he plays international cricket,” he added.
