Credits: BCCI/X
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that it is high time that the National Cricket Academy (NCA) shares a clarity on Mohammed Shami’s fitness. Not only this, but he also said that he won’t risk fielding the pacer in the ongoing five-match series against Australia until they are sure of his condition. The Indian pacer who has been out of international cricketing sphere since more than a year has made his way back to domestic cricket and will next play the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy for Bengal scheduled to begin on December 21.
After the third Test ended in a draw in Brisbane, Sharma said, "About Shami, I think it's high time somebody from NCA talks about him, where he is rehabbing. Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update. I understand he's playing a lot of cricket back home, but there have been some complaints about his knee as well. So, look, the last thing you want is the player coming here and then pulling out in the middle of the game. You know what happens when that kind of thing happens.”
Door is open if those guys at the NCA feel that he is okay to go: Rohit Sharma
During the press conference, Sharma also said that until the team is 200% sure of Shami’s fitness, they won’t take any risks. He said, "There is no way we want to take that chance unless we are like, not 100%, 200% sure, we're not going to take any risk. But yeah, like I said in the last press conference, the door is open if those guys at the NCA feel that he is okay to go and recover and play, we'll be happy to have him."
It is to be noted that Shami has been under the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence’s watch ever since he underwent ankle surgery in London in February 2024. The bowler was on track to make a comeback during the home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand. He had been bowling prior to the start of India’s domestic season in August but later a knee problem during the rehab forced the Indian administrative body to take a more cautious approach.
