India pacer Mohammed Shami failed to make a cut to the India squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shami has been out of action since the ODI World Cup 2023 due to injury. He was set to make a comeback before the Australia tour but suffered a swallown knee during the rehab at the NCA. Shami along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj form a potent pace attack, however, with Shami out and Siraj not in the best of form, India's pace attack looks a little bit on the weaker side.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald reacted to Shami's snub from the squad and said he would be a big miss for India.
"Mohammed Shami is a big loss," McDonald was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo on ABC's Offsiders. "The way our batters speak about his relentless nature, his line and lengths, the way he goes about his business, a real good complimenting skill set to Bumrah so think that one-two combo they'll lack a little bit, and they'll miss that."
India gave maiden call-ups to Harshit Rana and all-rounder Nitish Reddy for the Australia tour. The team will also have Siraj, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna as pace bowling options. McDonald said while Shami's absence will hurt India, the reserves can't be underestimated.
"But needless to say we saw what happened last time, they had reserves that came in and did the job as well so they cannot be underestimated at all," he added.
Can Shami Make It To India Squad?
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami can still make it to the India squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. As per reports, Mohammed Shami is likely to make a comeback on November 6 and play two Ranji Trophy matches against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. If Shami can prove his match fitness, a return to the India squad can’t be counted out.