It is also understood that Shami is set to be picked in the provisional squad for the Champions Trophy.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR
Mohammed Shami will return to international cricket after a prolonged injury hiatus. The pacer was picked in India’s 15-member squad for the five-match T20I series against England, starting January 22.
The national selection panel met here in person on Saturday to finalise the squad and take stock of the Indian cricket team.
The Hindu understands that Shami, who last featured for India during the 2023 World Cup final, is also set to be picked in the provisional squad for the Champions Trophy.
However, with Shami’s ankle and knee injury having taken much longer than expected to heal, the selectors and the team management will keep a keen eye on Shami’s match fitness during the England white-ball series.
Update on Bumrah
It is understood that the selectors will finalise the squad for the three ODIs against England next week since they are keeping a close watch on the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts and are also awaiting a medical update on Jasprit Bumrah.
Besides Shami’s return, Dhruv Jurel has been preferred as the reserve wicketkeeper, with Rishabh Pant rested along with most of the squad members in Australia.
Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has been the find of an otherwise forgettable season so far, has been preferred in place of Shivam Dube as the second pace-bowling allrounder.
Interestingly, Axar Patel has been announced as Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy for the T20Is. Axar is also expected to be handed the captaincy by his Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals for the forthcoming edition.
Team management meeting
Immediately after the selection meeting, the BCCI had a meeting to take stock of a disastrous season of Test cricket and planned the way forward. The meeting was attended by Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar, secretary-in-waiting Devajit Saikia and former secretary Jay Shah.
All the personnel were huddled together at a south Mumbai hotel, before Shah’s felicitation by the BCCI for having been elected as the International Cricket Council chair.
Transition
It is understood that the meeting discussed the role of the coaching staff and contemplated charting out the transition of the longer format squads. Neither Rohit nor Virat Kohli – both out of form – are in danger of their place being questioned for the Champions Trophy.
The squad: Suryakumar Yadav (Capt.), Axar Patel (Vice-capt.), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).
The schedule (T20Is): Jan 22: Kolkata; Jan 25: Chennai; Jan 28: Rajkot; Jan 31: Pune; Feb 2: Mumbai.
Published – January 11, 2025 09:34 pm IST
