The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) management is unlikely to bring back Indian pacer Mohammed Shami to the team ahead of the two-match test series against Bangladesh in September.
Shami, who suffered an injury during the ODI World Cup 2023, was also ruled out of taking part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.
While it was expected that Shami would be included in the Duleep Trophy 2024 squads, to keep a tab on his match fitness ahead of the Test season, the management believes that there is no need to currently rush the fast bowler back into the Test team.
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Mohammed Shami injury update: When will the star pacer make a return back to the Indian team?
According to an Indian Express report, Mohammed Shami is only likely to make a return from injury, back to the Indian team, for the New Zealand Test series, in October.
The Indian management is unlikely to rush the fast bowler for the Bangladesh series as he is still continuing his rehabilitation from an ankle surgery.
The report said that the officials expect Shami to first play in the Ranji Trophy opener on October 11, followed by his return to international cricket in the second or third Test against New Zealand.
Alternatively, depending on Shami's fitness progression, he might also be asked to travel with the India A team to Australia, to play two four-day practice matches on October 31 and November 7, ahead of the most awaited Border Gavaskar Trophy series against the Aussies.
According to Express sources, after his return back to bowling fitness in the nets, Shami will take part in practice matches at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
“Since he hasn’t played in a while, he has to be integrated smoothly into the system. With Bumrah, we had the T20s in Ireland, which allowed us to increase his workload gradually. But with Shami, we are talking about Test cricket, where he has to bowl long spells. It will be a step-by-step process and Australia tour is the ultimate goal," sources told Express.
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Experience of fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah is key for Team India ahead of Australia tour
The Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma will rely on the two experienced fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah when the team tours Australia in November.
Understanding their importance to the team, particularly in Australian conditions that assist fast bowlers, both star pacers have been granted the necessary workload managements to recover, and to prevent injuries.
"We cannot rest everyone at one go because you need experience even in home conditions. Like in the case of England series, where India paired a senior pacer with a youngster, a similar approach would be adopted. There is a good crop of fast bowlers at the Duleep Trophy, who have been picked keeping the Australia tour in mind. If they do well, we can use them in home conditions before taking them to Australia," a BCCI official said.
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