Later this year, the Indian men’s cricket squad will board a plane to Australia. The team will engage in a five-match Test series. According to acting schedules, the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy will commence on the 22nd of November 2024 in Perth, and the following four encounters will be played in the subsequent cities; Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. India has won the last two Test series held in Australia, and under the supervision of Rohit Sharma, they will be keen to make it three series wins in a row this time around
After speaking to team management, ex-India batter Manoj Tiwary also had a word of caution for BCCI against selecting Mohammed Shami for the India tour of Australia stating that there is no place for him in the red-ball format if he is not completely fit.
He even cautioned that picking Shami in such conditions will also hamper chances of breakdown.
“Why take him to Australia when he is only 80% fit? There will be a breakdown if he is 80% fit. If someone is not 100% fit, then they should not be participating. Because if you want to see the longer picture, then nobody who is not 100% fit should play,’ said Tiwary in an interview with RevSportz Global.
“He (Shami) is very much a team player. The T20 World Cup is around the corner and so are various other tournaments. Bring him in and get his rehabilitation carried out there. But it’s paramount that one is totally fit, because it is India which one represents. It is not for some state or a club cricket team that they have to do this. For we have bowlers who can come in and fill that void. About him, the same experience and the quality will not be available, but do consider other players also for if they are ignored, they will be unhappy. About him, the same experience and the quality will not be available, but do consider other players also for if they are ignored, they will be unhappy. However, it is only when Shami is perfectly healthy that he should travel with Bumrah first,” he added.
Shami last donned the Indian jersey during the 2023 ODI World Cup Final and ever since has been sidelined with an ankle injury. It emerged last week that he is set to be included in the India-New Zealand Test series.
