Bengal won a humdinger at Indore, beating Madhya Pradesh by 11 runs in their Ranji Trophy game that ended on Saturday. In the grand scheme of things, there was even better news – Mohammed Shami passed his match-fitness test with flying colours.
Shami returned to competitive cricket after a gap of one year and he was closely monitored by the NCA physio Nitin Patel. The fast bowler bowled 43.2 overs across two innings, took seven wickets and never did he look in any sort of trouble. Has he done enough to be added as an additional member in the Indian squad for the Australia tour?
“He (Shami) is absolutely fine,” said a source, who has been keeping an eye on the player’s progress. “He didn’t have any trouble bowling long spells. It’s up to the selectors now.”
Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla concurred. “Mohammed Shami is game-ready,” he told RevSportz. “He bowled 44 overs across two innings and never did he look out of rhythm or facing any fitness issues. He hardly came out of the ground for a breather.”
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The five-Test series between India and Australia starts in Perth on November 22 and there’s very little turnaround time for the 34-year-old quick to be available for the series opener. But the second Test in Adelaide commences from December 6 and India will play a tour game against PM-XI in Canberra before that. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee included Washington Sundar in the Indian team as an additional member during the home series against New Zealand. It needs to be seen what they decide about Shami.
According to Mohammed Badruddin, Shami’s childhood coach, the seamer should be sent to Australia, now that he is fully fit. “I have been talking to him and he didn’t complain about any discomfort,” Badruddin told RevSportz. “I think Shami should be sent to Australia as early as possible. Without him, India’s bowling is heavily dependent on (Jasprit) Bumrah. If Shami is available and pairs up with Bumrah, then the Australians would hesitate to prepare seam-friendly pitches.”
There’s a school of thought in Indian cricket that rather than playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Shami should straightaway go to Australia to acclimatise with the conditions, for a T20 tournament cannot be the right preparation for Test cricket.
Over to Agarkar & Co now.