India will not have many games recently, especially until the Bangladesh team travels to India for the home series. Though with the current political unrest in Bangladesh, this series remains doubtful, yet India is gearing up for a home season, which will mostly include the games in the longest format of the game as a part of their WTC cycle.
India in their recent loss have likely missed on several areas, but one of the major areas of concern has also been Siraj’s inability to produce wickets and hence the selectors as well as India’s new head coach in search of new players from the upcoming domestic seasons, which will be either the Ranji or Duleep Trophy which will be played later this year.
One of India’s finest players, Mohammad Shami, the right-arm pacer, India’s current most experienced pacer, is likely recovering from his injury at the National Cricket Academy. It was an ankle injury that ruled India’s ace bowler from participation in any international or domestic games since the end of the Cricket World Cup in November 2023.
Initially, Shami’s ankle injury was considered minor, though he was advised to get himself ready for surgery after he saw repeated swelling in the region when he was stationed at the NCA, as a result of which he was withdrawn from India’s tour of South Africa.
Following his surgery, Mohammad Shami not only missed games for his national side but also missed an entire season for the Gujarat Titans, as a result of which he was also not seen for India in their T20 World Cup triumph. Shami in the last Cricket World Cup played 7 games for India and was not a part of the team initially, though was included when Pandya was ruled out due to injury. He went on to pick 24 wickets at an alarming rate of 12.20, averaging almost 10.70.
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India will play their next series against Bangladesh in a two-match home test series in September, and hence it is likely for Shami to make a comeback by then. Before the Sri Lanka series, Ajit Agarkar had accepted that Shami was recovering from injuries and he had started to bowl in the nets. The chief selector also made a bold claim, as he said Shami, Siraj, and Bumrah have been around for some time and are hence the obvious picks.
Shami is currently in his final stages of rehab, though nothing has been confirmed by the BCCI or even the NCA members. If he recovers, Shami has shown interest in first starring for his state team of Bengal before making a return to the national side.
Even if Shami misses the Bangladesh or New Zealand home series, he would still have plenty of time left to make a probable comeback as the Australian tour, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, is scheduled later in November, after the Kiwi home series ends on November 5th. Only after the Aussie series can he be back for the Indian side in the England tour, playing across multiple formats, as India eye to prepare him for both the Champions Trophy and the WTC final later in June the coming year in 2025.
