 "Mohammed Shami is being monitored by the BCCI's Sports Science department and will only fly to Australia once he gets clearance from them. Reuters")
Mohammed Shami’s fitness is reportedly being monitored by the BCCI as the India pacer aims to return to international cricket following an ankle injury that has kept him out of action for more than a year. Shami has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in November last year, but the Bengal speedster is currently takin part in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.
Shami could fly to Australia at ‘some point’
According to a report in Cricbuzz, it is possible that Shami could fly to Australia at “some point” during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series. In a bid to ensure tat Shami retains full match fitness, a team from the BCCI’s Sports Science department as well as a national selector are in Rajkot, where Shami is with the Bengal team currently. Nitin Patel, who is the head of BCCI Sports Science at Bengaluru’s recently-launched Centre of Excellence (National Cricket Academy), as well as trainer Nishant Bardule and selector SS Das are in Rajkot to keep an eye on Shami.
The report adds that the brief for the NCA team in Rajkot is to assess if Shami has the ability to handle the “physical demands” of a Test if he is called up to join the Indian Test team in Australia.
Nishant has, however, left Rajkot after assigning Shami a few fitness drills to work on, and to be considered for selection, the BCCI has asked for the approval of the Sports Science Department. Regular updates regarding Shami’s fitness are being given to chief selector Ajit Agarkar and the Indian team in Australia.
Shami asked to bowl certain number of deliveries to prove fitness
Shami has been asked to bowl a minimum number of deliveries everyday while also monitoring his pre-match and post-match fitness. Shami has taken four wickets in as many matches so far in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. In November, the 34-year-old returned to competitive cricket with Bengal in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, where he took seven wickets across the two innings.
India, meanwhile, defeated Australia by 295 runs in the first Test in Perth and will head to the second Test in Adelaide on the back of a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series. The Adelaide Test will be a Day-Night affair and will begin on 6 December.