Rohit Sharma doesn’t want 'undercooked' Mohammed Shami in Australia, says India will wait for him to regain full fitness

India captain Rohit Sharma hinted at Mohammed Shami potentially missing out on the upcoming tour of Australia, saying he wouldn’t want an “undercooked” version of him for the marquee five-Test series that gets underway in November. Speaking to reporters on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, Rohit further revealed that the senior pacer’s recovery from an ankle injury and a subsequent surgery had been hampered by a swelling in his knees.

“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,” Rohit said in the press conference on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand.

More from First Cricket News

Suresh Raina to appear before ED for questioning in illegal betting app case linked to money laundering Rohit Sharma hits the gym to train with Abhishek Nayar amid reports of ODI retirement

“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.

Read | Mohammed Shami slams reports of fresh knee injury as 'baseless rumors'

Shami has been out of action since last year’s ODI World Cup, in which he finished as the leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets to his name despite being benched for India’s initial group-stage matches. He was in red-hot form during the World Cup despite an ankle injury, for which he would undergo a surgery in February in February.

Impact Shorts

View All

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy

The Bengal and Gujarat Titans pacer has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in recent months after is expected to prove his fitness in the Ranji Trophy before boarding the flight to Australia.

Read | Five bowlers who could replace Shami in Australia tour if India pacer fails to regain fitness

Rohit, however, added that the team management, which also comprises head coach Gautam Gambhir, intends for Shami to regain full fitness before returning to the highest level of the sport.

“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.

Read | BCCI secretary Jay Shah virtually confirms India pacer for Australia Test series

Rohit added that the staff at the NCA, of which former India batter VVS Laxman remains the Director, will continue to monitor Shami’s progress and that the pacer might play a couple of practice games at the Bengaluru facility to assess his fitness levels.

“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.

Read | ‘Don’t want to rush and risk getting injured again’: Mohammed Shami

Shami has represented India in 64 Tests and 101 ODIs along with 23 T20Is, collecting 229 wickets in the red-ball, five-day format at an average of 27.71.

While his last competitive appearance was in the ICC World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad, which the Men in Blue ended up losing by six wickets, his last Test appearance also came in a defeat at the hands of Pat Cummins’ men — at the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval in London earlier in 2023.