Mohammed Shami last played a T20I match for India on November 8, 2021 against Namibia. That was the 2021 T20 World Cup and his mediocre performance made sure that the team management didn’t think twice before sidelining him for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand.
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However, a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then and he was back in the reckoning when he was picked as a reserve player for T20 World Cup 2022 in September. Furthermore, he was also picked up in the 15 for the three match T20I series against Australia. Nevertheless, he contracted Covid-19 and his dream of an India comeback evaporated quickly.
Meanwhile with Jasprit Bumrah getting ruled out, Shami was likely to be the biggest benefactor with fans expecting the 32-year-old to be named as his replacement for T20 World Cup.
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Nevertheless, BCCI had some other ideas. The dilly-dallying on the part of the Board to explicitly name Shami in the T20 World Cup squad must have raised questions about Shami being the number 2 pacer in the team. Now, it’s learnt that BCCI doesn’t have full confidence in Shami and want him to prove his match fitness. Furthermore, he might be included in the ODI squad.
“Cricbuzz understands that both the national selectors and the team management wanted him to play a match before being included in the World Cup squad. It will be interesting to see how the situation pans out but there is the likelihood of the spot being a toss-up between Shami and Siraj," a report in Cricbuzz said.
It’s being reported that Siraj might get a nod in ahead of Shami as the pacer was also included as a replacement to Bumrah in the T20I series against South Africa.
Earlier several media reports had also suggested that Siraj will be included as Bumrah’s replacement with Umran Malik being the reserve player for T20 World Cup.
In 2022, Shami has taken 13 wickets in 5 Tests at an average of 34.46. In 3 ODIs, he has picked 4 wickets at an average of 29.25. As of now, he is not in the ODI squad against South Africa and has been named as traveling reserve for T20 World Cup.
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