Mohammed Shami return to India in jeopardy after Kolkata T20I collapse, pacer to miss out….
According to reports, Mohammed Shami will once again warm the bench when India and England clash in the second T20I of the ongoing five-match series.
The veteran fast bowler has been called up to the Indian team after a gap of over a year. Mohammed Shami was sidelined for almost a year after sustaining an ankle injury during the World Cup 2023. He played the tournament while carrying the injury and produced a stunning performance, finishing the competition as the top wicket-taker.
However, he had to pay a heavy price for not repairing the injury in time. The right-arm pacer had to undergo surgery and spent months on the sidelines, missing the IPL as well as the Test series against England, New Zealand and Australia.
Mohammed Shami finally returned to competitive cricket in November last year after a break of almost a year. He represented Bengal in domestic cricket. After proving that he is match fit, the selectors finally recalled the pacer for the ongoing series against England.
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Mohammed Shami unlikely for Chennai T20I:
Many expected Mohammed Shami to play in all five T20Is against England. However, the Indian team management sprung a big surprise by opting not to include him in the playing eleven for the first T20I at the Eden Gardens earlier this week.
As soon as it was confirmed that Mohammed Shami would not play the first T20I, many feared that the pacer was still not fully fit. However, India opener Abhishek Sharma later played down those fears and stated that his senior teammate did not play the match due to conditions and combinations.
“I feel like it’s a team management decision and they thought it was a better option with these conditions in mind,” Abhishek said at the post-match press conference.
And while fans were hoping that Shami would play the second T20I in Chennai, it looks unlikely as of now. According to RevSportz, the fastballer will likely miss out once again. Although the news outlet did not reveal the exact reason behind the decision, it is likely that the pacer will not get a chance due to the conditions in Chennai.
Break – Shami likely to miss few T20 games from here – chennai looks tough – let’s wait for Rajkot
— Рохит жуглан Rohit Juglan (@rohitjuglan) January 23, 2025
The venue has traditionally helped spinners more and India are expected to play with the same combination of one front pacer and two spinners.
Meanwhile, India didn’t miss Mohammed Shami much in the first T20I as they defeated England by 7 wickets to take the lead in the series. Asked to bat first, England were bowled out for a paltry total of 132 runs. Jos Buttler top scored for his side, scoring 68 runs off 44 balls.
For India, Varun Chakravarthy took 3 wickets while Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel took 2 wickets each. With the bat, India chased down a total of 13 overs thanks to Abhishek’s whirlwind knock. The southpaw smashed 79 runs off just 34 balls with the help of 5 fours and 8 sixes.
