New Delhi. If Mohammed Shami had been playing in the India-Australia Test series, the result could have been different. India could have even won the series… This is what former captain Ravi Shastri says, who is angry with Shami’s injury management. Ravi Shastri said that if Mohammed Shami had been included in the team in the second part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, India could have had the upper hand. Australia won this series 3–1. The host team had won the last two matches of the series.
After recovering from ankle injury, Mohammed Shami performed well for Bengal in all three formats i.e. Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy. Due to this, his hopes of returning to the Indian team had increased. But the medical team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had ruled out the possibility of his return before the fourth Test in Melbourne, citing knee swelling. However, Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting believe that India should have taken Shami on the tour of Australia.
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri said in The ICC Review, ‘To be honest, I was very surprised by what was going on in the media as to what actually happened to Mohammed Shami in the end. Where is he when it comes to getting fit? I don’t know how long he has been in NCA (Indian Cricket Academy). What condition is he in? There could have been proper dialogue about this. If I had to decide, I would bring him to Australia. Had he been there, we could have changed the results of Melbourne and Sydney Test in our favor.
Ricky Ponting, captain of Australia’s World Cup winning team, also seemed to agree with Shastri. He said, ‘I really wonder why he (Shami) was not included in the team in the middle of the series. Even if he bowled less overs, he could still make a difference. He said, ‘When you asked me (in the last ICC review) what would be the result of the series, I had said that Australia will win 3-1 because Shami is not in the Indian team. If Shami, Bumrah and Siraj had been in their starting team, I think the result could have been different. (input language)
Tags: Mohammed Shami, Ravi Shastri, Ricky ponting
FIRST PUBLISHED : January 7, 2025, 3:02 pm IST