Mohammed Shami is expected to fly to Australia at some point during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is ensuring that, when the decision is finally made by the national selectors in collaboration with the team management, it is the right one. A team from the BCCI Sports Science department, along with a national selector, is currently camping in Rajkot to closely observe the India pacer, who is returning after a year-long injury-induced hiatus.
Nitin Patel, the head of the BCCI’s Sports Science wing at the new Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, along with trainer Nishant Bardule, besides selector SS Das, have been stationed in the Saurashtra city to monitor Shami. The pacer has been representing Bengal in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). The brief to the NCA team is to assess whether Shami can handle the physical demands of a high-intensity Test match, should he be called up to join the team.
The NCA trainer had been working with the 34-year-old pacer until Saturday and is believed to have left Rajkot, leaving behind drills for Shami to follow. However, Patel remains in Rajkot along with the selector. According to the information, the BCCI will not proceed with selecting the bowler until the Sports Science Department gives its approval. Chief selector Agarkar and the Indian team’s think tank, currently in Australia, are being regularly updated on the senior pacer’s progress.
Although performances in Twenty20 matches may not directly indicate preparedness for a Test match, the primary focus of the observation is to determine whether Shami can endure the workload of a Test match rather than to exactly assess his pace, form and rhythm. The perception here is T20 games are considered intense and gruelling enough to test a player’s fitness and ability to handle workload. Shami is also being asked to bowl a specific number of deliveries each day, with both his pre-match and post-match conditions being carefully monitored.
Shami has played four matches so far in the SMAT, with returns of 1/ 46 against Punjab, 3/21 against Hyderabad, 0/46 against Mizoram and 0/38 against Madhya Pradesh. Fitness wise, he is believed to have fared well in these outings. Prior to that, he featured in a four-day Ranji match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, where he took figures of 4 for 54 and 3 for 102 in two innings. Bengal won the match by 11 runs, with Shami claiming the final MP wicket in a close finish.
At this stage, the team management and the national selectors seem to want Shami to play a few more matches before considering him for a recall. Bengal have three more league games scheduled in Rajkot – against Meghalaya on December 1, Bihar on December 3, and Rajasthan on December 5 – before the tournament moves to Bengaluru for the knockout rounds, which start on December 9.
The importance of Shami in the national side cannot be overstated. Jasprit Bumrah himself acknowledged his value before the start of the first Test, stating that the team management is closely monitoring the veteran pacer’s progress. “Mohammed Shami is an integral part of this team. He’s started bowling, and the management is keeping a close eye on him. Hopefully, you might see him here,” Bumrah, the vice-captain, who led the side in the Perth Test, had said.