Follow UsMohammed Shami returned to the Indian side in the ongoing T20I series against England after more than 430 days. The last time he played an international game for India was in the 2023 ODI World Cup final on November 19 of that year.
However, he didn’t play the first and second T20I and has been bowling only on the sidelines of the series. While he was limping during the first T20I, he was seen bowling in almost perfect rhythm around the second T20I in Chennai.
“Yes, Shami is fit,” India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said ahead of the third T20I against England.
“Something about him playing or not playing, I am not the one who can answer. There is definitely a plan and looking for coming matches as well and one-dayers. So, that is something the coach Gautam [Gambhir] and obviously Surya will take a call. But (his) fitness is definitely not a problem depending on how they are planning to build his load.”
He has been out of the side due to his knee-related issues, for which he also received treatment and was in rehabilitation for an extended period. He finally returned this domestic season for Bengal and played a handful of games across formats.
However, he wasn’t fit enough to make the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) squad, as he suffered from knee swelling while bowling in domestic cricket.
While he was bowling in rhythm in domestic cricket, the intensity and zip on the ball one is accustomed to seeing from Shami was missing. Even after being selected for the ongoing England T20Is, Shami missed the first game. India selected three spinners and went with a single specialist pacer in Arshdeep Singh, two pace bowling all-rounders and three spinning options.
Meanwhile, Kotak also commented on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's form woes and said he'll be able to help the stalwarts whenever they feel ready to listen and work on his input.
"If they are in a mindset, during that point of time, if they are ready to take any inputs, yes, I would have certain things in my mind and I will say it, but it has to be at the right time and they should feel that they are ready for that," Kotak said.
"If I can add value to 2%, 5%, that is a great thing, because of the amount of cricket they have played and the way they have performed, it would not be unfair to say. There might be a lot of things for me also to learn from them."
The third T20I will be played on January 28 in Rajkot.