Shami to make return for India in England T20 series in his first bit of international cricket since 2023.
Shami to make return to international cricket as he is named in the squad for the England T20 series.
Mohammed Shami, a fast bowler, has finally returned to the Indian team after being selected for the five Twenty20 Internationals against England that begin in Kolkata on January 22. He last played for India in the November 2023 ODI World Cup final. Following that, he underwent ankle surgery and experienced knee pain.
The selectors chose Suryakumar Yadav’s T20I team on Saturday, but they have not yet revealed India’s ODI team for the three February matches against England or the preliminary 15 for the Champions Trophy, which must be announced by January 12.
Since the extent of the injury that kept him from bowling in Australia’s second innings in the fifth Test in Sydney is still unknown, Jasprit Bumrah was left out of the 15 for the Twenty20 Internationals match against England.
After playing the Test series in Australia, Rishabh Pant, who was India’s primary wicketkeeper at the 2024 T20 World Cup and in two of the three T20Is played in Sri Lanka in July of last year, was probably rested along with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The two wicketkeepers for the Twenty20 International match against England are Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel. Due to his shoulder ailment, batting all-rounder Riyan Parag was not available.
The selection committee did not include Ramandeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal, and Vijaykumar Vyshak from the 15 that won a T20I series 3-1 in South Africa in November. They were replaced by Shami, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel, and Washington Sundar, who were all involved in India’s Test tour of Australia and missed that series.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Shami participated in all nine of Bengal’s Twenty20 matches and claimed 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.85. However, he only participated in three of Bengal’s seven 50-over matches in the subsequent Vijay Hazare Trophy, taking five wickets at a 25.80 average. There was continuous conjecture at this time as to whether Shami would be cleared to travel to Australia with the India Test team, however this was not the case because of a persistent swelling in his knee.
According to the BCCI press release, Axar Patel was appointed the T20I team’s vice-captain. A vice-captain was not named in the two previous T20I squad announcements, which were for the series against South Africa and Bangladesh at home. When India played the T20I series in Sri Lanka in July, Gill served as the previous deputy.