India skipper Rohit Sharma has virtually ruled out Mohammed Shami from the upcoming Test tour of Australia, saying that the pacer’s recovery from an ankle surgery has been hampered by swelling in knees and it would not be right to take an “undercooked” version of him for the marquee showdown.
Shami last played for India during the ODI World Cup final last year and has been recuperating from an ankle surgery after that.
“To be honest, right now, it’s pretty difficult for us to make a call on him, whether he’ll be fit for this series or Australia series. He recently had swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual,” Rohit told reporters here on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand.
“He was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100 per cent, he had swelling in his knee, that put him back a little bit in his recovery. So, he had to start again. Right now, he’s at NCA, he’s working with the physios and the doctors at NCA,” he added.
Rohit said the team management wants Shami to regain full fitness before returning to top-flight cricket.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed, we want him to be 100 per cent fit. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia, that is not going to be the right decision for us.
“It is quite tough for a fast bowler, having missed so much of cricket, and then suddenly to come out and be at his best, it is not ideal,” he noted.
Rohit said the National Cricket Academy staff will continue to assess Shami’s fitness and he might play a couple of internal matches in that process.
“We want to give him enough time to recover and be 100 per cent fit. The physios, the trainers, the doctors have set a roadmap for him.
“He is supposed to play a couple of (practice) games before he plays international cricket,” he added.
Shami has played 64 Tests for India, taking 229 wickets at an impressive average of 27.71. India will play five Tests in Australia starting November 22.
