India's ever-reliable pacer Mohammed Shami is all set to return to the national colors after more than a year. He is currently preparing for the next white-ball series against England at home. On Saturday, January 18, Shami was named in India's 15-member squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
After Mohammed Shami's inclusion in the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Indian captain Rohit Sharma labeled the experienced pacer a “master of white-ball cricket”, while hailing his resilience, class and comeback story.
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Notably, Shami was ruled out for almost a year due to an ankle injury, his last appearance for the Indian team was in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad on 19 November.
The star pacer underwent surgery last year and then battled a slight swelling in his left knee during his recovery, ruling him out of the New Zealand Tests and Australia tour.
However, after a long recovery, Shami finally made a competitive comeback with Bengal in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, followed by the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The experienced pacer also played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 and showed good form with the ball.
Mohammed Shami is a stalwart of white-ball cricket: Rohit Sharma
Before the setback, Mohammed Shami played a key role in India reaching the finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup and his performance, especially in moments of high pressure, left a lasting impression on Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who takes brought rich praise. on his first bowler.
After the ODI squad for the England series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad announcement on Saturday, Rohit Sharma praised Shami's performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 and said it was superb to watch while hailing him as a key asset to the cricket team from India.
Rohit Sharma said at Saturday's press conference in Mumbai, “Shami is a stalwart of white-ball cricket. What he did recently at the World Cup was superb to watch… If you talk about everybody, you can't please everybody. So at the end of the day, you try to make the best team and the best possible team to win games in different situations.”
Anyway, I don't think Mohammed Shami's fitness had anything to do with white-ball cricket: Ajit Agarkar
Meanwhile, Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that they tried hard to get Shami's services for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy but his knee did not allow him to play four-day or five-day cricket. Agarkar is confident that there will be no problem with Shami's fitness in white-ball cricket.
Ajit Agarkar told the presser, “Anyway, I don't think his fitness had anything to do with white-ball cricket. I think he played most of the Syed Mushtaq Ali games and some of the Vijay Hazare games. With the uncertainty around Jassi (Bumrah) as well, if he (Shami) is fit and playing regularly, the quality and experience he brings is invaluable. Hopefully he'll come through to the white-ball games against England, and by the time the Champions Trophy comes around, he's 100 per cent.”