Mohammed Shami's Exclusion From New Zealand Tests a Worrying Sign For Australia Tour?

Mohammed Shami was not included in the Indian Test squad for the upcoming three-match series against New Zealand.

Shami had suffered an injury during last year’s ODI World Cup and underwent surgery after the event. He is still unavailable for the New Zealand series and it looks like he is targeting a return for the Australia series. With the wickets continuing to aid spin, the move offers Shami more time to get ready for the Australia series.

‘Knee Injured Flared up’

Shami’s knee injured has reportedly flared up recently even as he was nearing a competitive return through Ranji Trophy for Bengal. Shami is said to have taken injections to manage an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup with the BCCI medical team eventually opting to have him undergo a surgery. The surgery further pushed Shami into the sidelines as he missed the tour of South Africa, five-match Test series against England at home, IPL 2024 and the 2024 T20 World Cup which India won.

Reports Denied

Shami took to social media to quash the reports claiming the worsening of his knee injury.

“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,” Shami had posted on X.

Akash Deep to Continue?

Jasprit Bumrah was named vice-captain as he replaced left-arm pacer Yash Dayal from the squad that played the two-match series against Bangladesh as they picked 15 players for the New Zealand series.

In the pace department, Bumrah will get sufficient support from Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep if the team management decides to go ahead with three pacers. However, the travelling reserves include young pace sensation Mayank Yadav, who had an impressive debut against Bangladesh, and Prasidh Krishna, thus providing cover in case needed.

Beyond the series against New Zealand, Shami’s injury concerns may open the door for someone like Akash Deep to make the cut for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

India’s squad for the three Tests against New Zealand:

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep.

Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna

(With inputs from Agencies)