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India’s newly appointed batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak opened up on Shami’s absence in the series so far.
Mohammed Shami’s non-selection remains a mystery ahead of the third T20I against England. (Image: AP)
Mohammed Shami’s inclusion in India’s squad for the ongoing T20I series came as a pleasant surprise as the pacer looked to make a full recovery after his absence from international cricket for over a year.
However, despite being named in the T20I squad and the Champions Trophy coming soon, many expected Shami to start, but the Indian team management felt otherwise.
Speaking ahead of the third T20I in Rajkot, India’s newly appointed batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak opened up on Shami’s absence in the series so far.
“Pacer Mohammed Shami is fit. The call on when he will play will be taken by the team management,” said India’s new batting coach.
The previous T20Is that took place in Kolkata and Chennai, had pitches that were more favoured for the spinners. The Men in Blue had opted to use five specialist batters and three all-rounders to lengthen their batting order as well.
Shami has had a rather tough road to recovery after his tremendous display in the 2023 edition of the ODI World Cup in India where he finished as the highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets despite playing only seven games.
With three more T20Is left, followed by the three-match T20I series, the Indian team would not want to take unnecessary risks with Shami and risk his participation in the Champions Trophy as well.
That said, it will also be equally important that the veteran pacer has enough international game time under his belt to ensure that he can deliver at his expected levels.
The pitch in Rajkot could be a batting-friendly track where Shami could be deployed to test his mettle against a quality English batting line-up led by the in-form Jos Buttler. Looking to wrap up the series victory early on, Shami’s inclusion will also be a closely watched topic with fans eager to see their World Cup hero back on the international stage.
India’s T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Axar Patel (VC), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shivam Dube, Ramandeep Singh.