By Priscilla Jepchumba

India’s star pacer, Mohammed Shami, is facing uncertainty about his participation in the upcoming tour to Australia due to a knee injury, Despite being close to full fitness, Shami was ruled out of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand.

India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, expressed concern about Shami’s readiness for the Australian tour, stating that the team’s priority is to ensure him his complete recover.

“To be honest, it’s pretty difficult for us to make a call on him, whether he would be fit for this series or the Australia series. He recently had a setback, he had a swelling in his knee which was quite unusual. He had to start afresh. Right now,he is working with the physios and the doctors,” Rohit Sharma said.

We want him to be 100 per cent fit, more than anything else. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That’s not going to be the right decision for us. He has not played cricket for a year, that’s quite tough for a fast bowler to come back and be at his best.

With the Australian tour scheduled to begin in November, Rohit remains hopeful about Shami’s participation. The Indian captain outlined a rehabilitation plan for Shami, which includes playing a few domestic matches before making a final decision on his availability for the tour.

Rohit acknowledged the challenges posed by the New Zealand; he emphasized the importance of focusing on the team’s own performance rather than solely concentrating on the opposition

Shami has not played cricket since the ODI World Cup 2023, where he was in sensational form. Shami was forced to undergo ankle surgery after the tournament and has been rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

It is also expected that India will fast-track a few players for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well. India play their first match in Perth, which starts on November 22. The star fast bowler set to sidelined due to an injury and is undergoing rehabilitation.

Shami’s absence would be a significant blow to the Indian team, who have enjoyed success in recent tours. However, India has been developing promising young fast bowlers like Akash Deep to fill the void.