Rohit Sharma in press conference© X (Twitter)
India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma delivered a bitter piece of news on Tuesday as he addressed the media ahead of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. Rohit, asked about the rehabilitation status of pacer Mohammed Shami, all but confirmed that the pacer would not be travelling with the team to Australia for the 5-match Border-Gavaskar Test series. Shami has been away from cricketing duties since the 2023 ODI World Cup. On multiple occasions, the veteran pacer was touted to make his return but only encountered roadblocks.
Speaking to the reporters in Bengaluru, Rohit confirmed that he isn't keen to bring Shami to Australia for the Test series even if he is fit. The reason behind this decision is the fact that Shami is 'undercooked', having not played cricket for a long time.
"To be honest, it is difficult to make a call on him for the Australia series. He had a setback and had swelling in his knees. That put him back a little bit and had to start again. He's at the NCA with doctors and physios. We don't want to bring undercooked Shami to Australia. We are keeping our fingers crossed," Rohit said.
"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 even said that the team management wants Shami to regain full fitness before returning to the national team.
"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.
The National Cricket Academy staff are working continuously with Shami and the pacer is also expected to play a few internal matches to prove his fitness.
"We want to give him enough time to recover and be 100 percent 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.
Earlier, when reports of Shami incurring a setback on his way to full recovery emerged, the pacer falsified the news, saying he isn't out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy yet.
"Why these type of baseless rumors? I'm working hard and trying my level best to recover. Neither the BCCI nor me have mentioned that I am out of the Border Gavaskar series. I request the public to stop paying attention to such news from unofficial sources. Please stop and don't spread such fake fake fake & fake news, especially without my statement," Shami posted on X (formerly Twitter).
While Rohit has confirmed that the chances of Shami playing against Australia are slim, he hasn't ruled out the fast bowler's inclusion 100% yet.