Mohammed Shami, the Indian pacer, who was close to making a return to the national team has encountered a new obstacle in his recovery. Shami, who had been working his way back after an ankle injury, now faces a swollen right knee, as reported by a leading publication. This injury could jeopardize his participation in India’s upcoming five-Test series against Australia, beginning November 24, 2024.
Shami has been out of action since the 2023 ODI World Cup in which he finished as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. Following the World Cup, Shami underwent ankle surgery, which ruled him out of the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup 2024 as well. Over the past few months, Shami has been sharing updates on his recovery, demonstrating his progress and readiness to return. Despite his absence from the field, his name frequently surfaced, including during the Day 5 commentary of the Kanpur Test when Ravi Shastri emphasized Shami’s importance for India’s tour of Australia.
Shami’s knee injury could extend his recovery period by several months. A source close to the BCCI revealed that Shami was on the path of returning to competitive cricket soon but now this knee injury has come up. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical team is closely monitoring the situation but the recovery may take longer than expected.
The source further added that it is a big setback for the medical team of National Cricket Academy as they were working on him for more than a year and now this injury will delay Shami’s return further.
The initial plan was for Shami to make his return during the New Zealand series, beginning October 16, to get some game time before the Australia tour. However, with the knee issue, Shami is unlikely to feature in India’s next Test series. He may only have a chance to play in the single warm-up game scheduled upon reaching Australia, which would be crucial for assessing his readiness.
India faces a challenging five-Test series in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the team management is keen to rotate the fast bowlers to avoid overworking them. Shami was expected to be a key part of the rotation alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. With Shami’s availability now in doubt, India may need to consider alternative pacers like Yash Dayal, Arshdeep Singh or Mukesh Kumar to fill the gap.
However, now there is the twist in this matter as the Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has reacted to the issue and he has termed the news of his knee surgery as baseless rumour. He took to X (formerly Twitter) and asked people to stop paying attention to news from unofficial sources as neither he nor the BCCI has spoken about his knee injury.
Shami wrote, “Why these type of baseless rumors? I’m working hard and trying my level best to recover. Neither the BCCI nor me have mentioned that I am out of the Border Gavaskar series. I request the public to stop paying attention to such news from unofficial sources. Please stop and don’t spread such fake fake fake & fake news, especially without my statement. #fakenews#stoprumors#rehab”
https://x.com/MdShami11/status/1841500129922072871
Finally, all is well!
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