Ravi Shastri Questions Md Shami’s Injury Management During Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Says India Pacer Might Have…
Ravi Shastri has questioned Mohammed Shami’s injury management and the decision to not fly India pacer over for the five-match Test series against Australia. The former India coach feels that Shami could have tilted the series in India’s favour had he been added to the squad in the second half of the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia.
After recovering from an ankle injury, the 34-year-old Shami returned to action for his home state Bengal and impressed in all the three formats — Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and Vijay Hazare one-dayers — raising hopes of a late inclusion. But he was officially ruled out before the fourth Test in Melbourne with the BCCI medical team citing a knee swelling.
“To be honest, I was very surprised with the communication going on in the media as to what exactly happened to Mohammed Shami. Where is he when it comes to recovery? He’s been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long. Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia,” Shastri said in The ICC Review.
“Absolutely, there’s no question about that (Shami could have tilted the series in Melbourne or Sydney),” he added.
The 62-year-old further said it would have been beneficial if Shami had, at least, travelled with the group in Australia.
“I would have kept him part of the team and made sure that his rehabilitation was done with the team,” said Shastri.
“And then if we thought by the third Test match that no, this guy can’t play the rest of the series, I would let him go. But I would have brought him with the team, kept him, monitored him with the best of the physios and best of the advice even from international physios who are in Australia and seeing how he went. But I would have kept him in the mix,” he added.
The former India coach also mentioned that Shami could have provided adequate help to Jasprit Bumrah, who too struggled with fitness at the end of the series and could not bowl in the second innings of the Sydney Test.
“It got so tight at 1-1 going into Melbourne. You just needed that experience and support. For all you know, he might have raised the bar as well. And it would have been the two guys there (Bumrah and Shami),” said Shastri.
“Pat Cummins couldn’t have done it on his own, Scotty Boland had to step in. So you needed a bowler of his experience. You know, as hard as Mohammed Siraj tried, you needed Shami’s experience there,” she added.
India’s decade-long stranglehold on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy came to an ended as they lost the series 1-3.
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