Reiterating his stance on the prospects of Mohammed Shami joining the squad for the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar series, India skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday left it on the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, formerly known as the National Cricket Academy (NCA), for clarity on the star quick’s fitness.
After being sidelined with an ankle surgery for nearly a year, Shami made a comeback at the domestic level, featuring in a solitary Ranji Trophy match before playing in the Syed Mustaq T20 competition, and is next set to play the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy for Bengal, starting December 21.
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“About Shami, I think it’s high time somebody from the NCA talked about him, where he is rehabbing. Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update,” Rohit said at the post-match presser on Wednesday.
“I understand he’s playing a lot of cricket back home, but there have been some complaints about his knee as well. So, look, the last thing you want is the player coming here and then pulling out in the middle of the game. You know what happens when that kind of thing happens.
“So, there is no way we want to take that chance unless we are like, not 100%, 200% sure, we’re not going to take any risk. But yeah, like I said in the last press conference, the door is open if those guys at the NCA feel that he is okay to go and recover and play, we’ll be happy to have him,” Rohit reiterated.
As things stand, Shami is yet to fully receive the NCA’s nod as he is believed to have complained of some swelling in his knees during the domestic T20 competition, which Rohit touched upon following India’s loss in Adelaide.
