Mohammed Shami mismanaged? The India and Australia legends dumped the BCCI amid the pacer’s injury woes

Former Indian team head coach Ravi Shastri has criticized the team’s management for the way they recovered from injury to veteran bowler Mohammed Shami last year. Ravi Shastri said he was surprised by Mohammed Shami’s absence from the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series.

Shami underwent Achilles tendon surgery in February 2024. He missed both the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the T20 World Cup 2024. The pacer returned to competitive cricket for Bengal in domestic cricket. He played well for Bengal but was not selected for the last two Tests in Australia.

I was very surprised by the communication that took place in the media – Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri has stated that Mohammed Shami should have been part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad. Shastri criticized the lack of clarity around Shami’s recovery, noting that he should have completed his rehabilitation with the team.

“Absolutely, there’s no doubt about that. To be honest, I was very surprised by the communication that took place in the media about what exactly happened to Shami. Where is he when it comes to recovery? He has been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long,” Shastri said speaking in the latest episode of ICC Review.

“I would keep him in the team and make sure that his rehabilitation is completed with the team. And if by the third Test we thought no, this guy can’t play the rest of the series, I’d let him go. But I would bring him with the team, keep him, monitor him with the best physios,” Shastri added.

Rohit Sharma expressed his frustration over Mohammed Shami’s absence

During the series, Indian captain Rohit Sharma expressed his frustration at the lack of communication from the National Cricket Academy regarding Mohammed Shami’s recovery. Shami’s absence was keenly felt as India lost the series 3-1 with Jasprit Bumrah taking the brunt of the bowling work.

Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna could not match Shami’s impact. After an injury break, Shami played in the Ranji Trophy against Madhya Pradesh. He also featured in all of Bengal’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches and is currently playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

If Mohammed Shami, Bumrah and Siraj were in their starting team – Ricky Ponting

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels that India made a mistake by not including Mohammed Shami in the squad, especially in the second part of the series. Ponting argued that even if Shami was not fully fit, his presence would have made the difference, as India had enough depth to handle his workload.

“I was really surprised when he wasn’t dropped even halfway through the series, two Test matches. India obviously had Nitish Reddy. So you had another seam bowler anyway,” Ponting told the ICC Review. .

“So if Shami, even if he wasn’t fully fit, if he had to bowl fewer overs on the day, you had a backup bowling option to help him and I think he could have been the difference. Had Shami, Bumrah and Siraj been in their starting squad, I think things could have been completely different here in Australia,” he added.

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