Skipper reveals recovered pacer again had 'swelling in knee' after SMAT outing
ADELAIDE: India's bowling issues in the pink-ball Test have reignited talk of flying in veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, who has just recovered from a prolonged year-long absence following ankle surgery and played in a few domestic games.
"Definitely that door is very much open," captain Rohit Sharma said when asked about the prospect of roping in Shami for the remaining Tests of the series. Rohit, though, added a rider.
"We're just monitoring him because while playing Syed Mushtaq Ali, he again got some swelling in his knee, which obviously hampers his preparation to come and play a Test match. We want to be very, very careful. We don't want to bring him into a situation where he plays and then pulls up sore or something happens."
Shami recently played for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy game against MP in Indore in which he bowled 43.2 overs across two innings and picked up seven wickets. Shami has also played seven games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and bowled 27.3 overs.
However, he hasn't played at the international level since the 50-over World Cup at home in Nov 2023. He had surgery on the ankle the following Feb but there were several setbacks in the recovery process.
"We want to be more than 100% sure with Shami, because it's been such a long time that he hasn't played any cricket. We don't want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. There are some professionals (the BCCI's medical team) who're monitoring him.
"We'll take the call based on what those guys feel there. They're the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game after bowling four overs, after standing for 20 overs. But the door is open for him to come here and play any time," Rohit said, without confirming if Shami would be seen in the Gabba nets a few days from now.
