A day after India captain Rohit Sharma revealed Mohammed Shami is still not 100 per cent fit to return to international cricket, the Bengal veteran hit back with a all-round show against Chandigarh in the pre-quarterfinal against Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on Monday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Bengal veteran first scored an unbeaten 32 off 17 balls and the returned with figures of 4-0-1-25 as his side narrowly won by three runs.
Touted to bolster the Indian bowling attack in Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) where none of the bowlers save Jasprit Bumrah could make an impact, bringing Shami to the top of his fitness is BCCI’s top priority.
Opting to bat first, Bengal batters struggled against a disciplined Chandigarh attack and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Coming after the dismissal of Kanish Seth, Shami joined hands with Pradipta Pramanick (30) to forge a 24-run stand.
The 34-year-old, who was coming after a long injury lay-off, unleased his beast mode in the final over the innings off Sandeep Sharma as the right-hander smashed two sixes and a four as Bengal accumulated 19 runs in the last six balls to finish at 159/9.
That’s not all. Defending 160, Shami struck with his third delivery, getting better of Arslan Khan. In the three overs he bowled, Shami looked in complete control, maintaining a tight line and length.
He banged the cherry short, full besides varying his pace too which the opposition batters struggled against. The last time Shami played for India was in the ODI World Cup final in 2023 after playing the mega tournament at home with an ankle injury.
Post World Cup, Shami went under the knife too before starting his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He returned to competitive cricket in the Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh before playing eight SMAT matches in 16 days.
In fact, BCCI medical team head Nitin Patel was too spotted at the Chinnaswamy to keep a close look at Shami.
What did Rohit say about Shami?
With India suffering a humiliating 10-wicket loss against Australia in Adelaide on Sunday, calls for the inclusion of Shami in the Indian squad has gotten louder. Reacting to Shami’s fitness update, Rohit said the BCCI is closely monitoring Shami’s fitness.
“The door is very much open. We are just monitoring him because he got some swelling in the knee while playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali which obviously hampers his preparation to play a Test match.
“We don’t want to bring him here in a situation where he pulls up sore or something happens. We want to be more than 100 per cent sure with him because it’s been such a long time since he hasn’t played cricket,” Rohit said after losing to Australia in second Test.
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