‘We need him in Australia’: Jay Shah confirms India will pick Mohammed Shami for Border-Gavaskar series

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that India will pick Mohammed Shami for the Border-Gavaskar series as they will need his services in Australia. Shami is soon expected to make his comeback after recovering from the ankle injury.

The pacer from Bengal also had to undergo the knife and missed out on the Indian Premier League 2024 for Gujarat Titans and also could not recover for the T20 World Cup, which India won by beating South Africa in the final.

Shami will now take the domestic route to get back into the national team. Meanwhile, the experienced seamer was at his absolute best in the ODI World Cup 2023, finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 24 scalps in seven matches at an impressive average of 10.71.

Shami had picked 16 wickets in four Test matches on the tour of 2018-19 to Australia when India won for the first time on Australian soil.

“Our team is already well prepared. We have rested Jasprit Bumrah for a while now. Mohammad Shami is expected to be fit too. This is an experienced Indian side now. Seniors like Rohit and Kohli are fit,” Shah told Times of India on the team’s preparation for the Australia tour.

“Shami will be there (in Australia) because he is experienced, and we need him in Australia,” he added.

On the other hand, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Snehasish Ganguly said Shami will have to prove his fitness in the domestic circuit to be selected for the national team.

“He (Shami) wants to be on that tour. But he has to play Ranji Trophy to prove himself,” Ganguly said.

India and Australia will play the first Test match at Perth from November 22 onwards.