Veteran India fast bowler Mohammed Shami did miss out on the opportunity to make the Test team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, but he is eager to make a return to the international fold for the impending Champions Trophy, which will begin on February 19.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is likely to announce India’s squad for the Champions Trophy by January 12, the last date to submit the provisional squad for all teams participating in the ICC tournament.
Ahead of the announcement, Shami, who was ignored for the tour of Australia amid repeated injury concerns despite having made a return to domestic cricket across all three formats, shared a video of his practice session, and along with it shared a loud and clear message to the selectors
He captioned it “Precision, Pace, and Passion, All Set to Take on the World!”
Jasprit Bumrah fear grows for Champions Trophy
The India fast bowler incurred an injury on Day 2 of the Sydney Test against Australia and was immediately taken for scans. He later did not take the field as he suffered from back spasms.
Three days since the end of the match at the SCG, where Australia claimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years, BCCI’s medical team has yet to give an official update on the grade of Bumrah’s injury.
If Bumrah’s injury is in grade 1 category, then it will take a minimum two to three weeks of rehabilitation before Return to Play (RTP). In case of Grade 2 injury, the recovery can go up to six weeks while Grade 3, the most severe in nature, requires a minimum three months of rest and rehabilitation programmes.
A report in PTI indicated that Bumrah will be rested for the upcoming ODI series at home against England, but if matters turn worse, he could be racing against time to regain fitness for Champions Trophy.
Hence, the selection of Shami for the Champions Trophy will matter to the team management. But the selectors would then want to give the senior bowler a go in the contest against England, before they take the big call.
ICC does allow all teams to make changes to their provisional squad until February 13.