Mohammed Shami was handed the Arjuna Award by the respected President of India Shri Draupadi Murmu yesterday for his incredible contribution to the Indian team in 2023. It’s not even 24 hours since his felicitation and reports have emerged that BCCI are all set to have a meeting with Shami to discuss his future in white ball cricket, especially in the T20 format.
It’s been almost 2 months since Mohammed Shami last appeared in India colors. He has yet to play a competitive match of any sort since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Final loss against Australia on November 19. Shami sustained an ankle injury after the final and has been out of action ever since.
The 33-year-old missed all of India’s subsequent matches after the CWC final, including the 5-match T20I home series against Australia and the entire month-long tour of South Africa where India played 3 ODIs-T20Is and 2 Tests.
Mohammed Shami was expected to play a major role alongside Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah during the Test series but it did not happen as BCCI denied him entry to the squad after he failed to pass a fitness test at the NCA. Shami is currently undergoing rehabilitation and is recovering well from the ankle injury.
Yesterday while speaking to a media outlet, the Amroha-born speedster confirmed that he is set to make his International return through the home Test series against England which begins from 25th January onwards at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Mohammed Shami had also expressed his desire to feature in the 20-team ICC T20 World Cup later this summer and kept himself available for selection. It should also be noted that the highest wicket-taker in CWC 2023 has not played any T20 cricket (barring IPL) since losing the 2022 T20 WC semi-final against England on November 10 at Adelaide.
There will be a discussion with Shami to know what he wants to do going ahead. He has taken a lot of workload in the last few years. This discussion was supposed to happen in South Africa. Since he didn’t travel with the team, the management and selectors will talk to him very soon. It has to be clear how much cricket he wants to play beyond the IPL.” – an internal BCCI source said.
T20 Captain Hardik Pandya To Have A Say On Selection Of Mohammed Shami
Team India’s skipper for the shortest format, Hardik Pandya who is recovering from an ankle injury too, is going to have a say in Mohammed Shami’s selection in the T20 side. The particular on Shami’s future will include head coach Rahul Dravid, ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma, Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Hardik Pandya himself.
“Hardik is still a big part of the leadership group. His point of view matters.” – the source added.
