Speaking after India’s ten-wicket loss in the second Test in Adelaide, Rohit said: “We are just monitoring him because while playing Syed Mushtaq Ali, he got some swelling in his knee, which hampers his preparation to come and play a Test match. We want to be very careful, we don’t want to bring him here, he pulls up sore or something happens.
“We want to be more than 100% sure with him because it has been a long time. We don’t want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. There are some professionals monitoring, we will take a call based on what those guys feel. They are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. But the door is open for him to come and play anytime.”
Shami has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final in November last year, after which he had surgery in February for an ankle injury. After suffering a few setbacks during his recovery process, Shami finally returned to action in November this year, taking seven wickets for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh.
Since then Shami has played seven games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking eight wickets in 27.3 overs. While there has been no official confirmation that he has been given the go-ahead to fly to Australia, it is expected that he will join the squad at some stage if there are no further setbacks.
