Rohit Sharma Provides Update On 'Undercooked' Shami Ahead Of NZ Tests, Casts Doubt Over Pacer's Participation In BGT

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma provides a massive update on pacer Mohammed Shami's injury status; says 'undercooked' Shami won't be ideal for India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Shami Injury Update: Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has developed a swelling in his knees, which puts him in doubt for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the first India vs New Zealand Test at Bengaluru, captain Rohit Sharma revealed that Shami, who has been out from any cricketing action since India’s defeat to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, faced an ‘unusual’ setback on his recovery journey, forcing him to restart the process.

Rohit revealed that while Shami was getting close to being 100 percent fit from his ankle injury that he went under the knife for earlier this year, he hit an unusual setback — a swelling in his knees. Currently, at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Shami is working with doctors and physios to get fully fit and match-ready.

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"It is pretty difficult for us to make a call on whether he will be fit for this series or the Australia series. He recently had a setback - he had a swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual. He was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100 percent and he had a swelling in his knee. That put him back a little bit in his recovery, so he had to start again fresh. Right now, he is at NCA - he is working with the physios, and the doctors at NCA," Rohit said ahead of the first IND vs NZ Test, as quoted by IANS.

Rohit & Co. Are Keeping Fingers Crossed About Shami's Participation In BGT

Rohit said that the Indian team is keeping their fingers crossed. He laid emphasis on not wanting to take an 'undercooked' Shami to Australia saying that will not be ideal. He also noted that Shami has not played any cricket for around a year now and getting back to his best right away is not achievable for any pacer, let alone Shami.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed. We want him to be fit; we want him to be 100 percent. More than anything else, we don't want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That is not going to be the right decision for us. He has not played any cricket for over a year. It is quite tough for a fast bowler to have missed so much of cricket and then suddenly to come out and be at his best. It is not ideal. We will want to give him enough time to recover, and be 100% fit," the Indian skipper added.

"The physios, the trainers, and the doctors have set a roadmap for him. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series, and then take a call at what stage of the Australia series he will be fit for us," said Rohit further.