 "Mohammed Shami has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia. Reuters")
Pacer Mohammed Shamni’s wait to make his India comeback extended further after he was absent from India’s playing XI for the first T20 against England at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Shami has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia, when he had sustained an ankle injury.
IND vs ENG | From Abhishek and Arshdeep shining to Pandya and Surya underwhelming, India’s hits and misses in 1st T20
He then underwent a surgery on is left Achilles tendon in February last year, and only made his competitive comeback in November during Bengal’s Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh, when he took seven wickets.
Why did Shami miss India’s first T20 against England?
While there were expectations that Shami would feature in the playing XI against England on Wednesday, there were rumours of the BCCI selectors not being confident with Shami’s fitness. However, all-rounder Abhishek Sharma later said that the team management thought it was best to leave out Shami from the playing XI owing to the conditions of the track at Eden Gardens.
“I feel it’s the decision of the team management and they thought it’s a better option keeping in mind of these conditions,” Abhishek said at the press conference after the match.
Shami had also turned up for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy as well as the Vijay Hazare Trophy in a bid to prove his fitness. He picked up 11 wickets from nine matches in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, while also collecting five wickets from three matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
While Shami remains an integral part of India’s ODI and Test plans, he hasn’t been at his best in T20Is, picking up 24 wickets from 23 matches at an economy rate of 8.94. Suryakumar had expressed his excitement on welcoming back Shami ahead of the series.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“It is always good to have an experienced bowler in your side. He is making a comeback after over a year. I am really excited to see him. I have seen his journey and how he was focusing on his bowling and recovery. It is good to see him back,” he had said at the pre-match press conference.
Shami, however, seemed to have recovered completely from his injury and was seen bowling at the nets for half an hour ahead of the match. Yet, skipper Suryakumar Yadav opted to go for three specialised spinners and one frontline pacer.
The spinners were effective as Varun Chakravarthy (3/23) and Axar Patel (2/22) shared five wickets between them to restrict England to 132 after India opted to field first. In reply, Abhishek Sharma did the star turn with a 34-ball knock of 79 as India scripted a seven-wicket victory with 7.1 overs to spare. The second T20 of the five-match series will be held in Chennai on Saturday (25 January).