Mohammed Shami Not Playing In IND Vs ENG 1st T20I, Aakash Chopra Says 'Obviously Not 100% Fit...'
Mohammed Shami missed out on making his international comeback in India vs England T20I series opener at the Eden Gardens.
Mohammed Shami was left out of the playing XI for the first T20I of the five-match series, between India and England, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.
His India return in 14 months after playing in the ODI World Cup final loss to Australia in November 2023 due to an ankle injury was on the cards.
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Shami was highly expected to play his international comeback game, but the wait has now extended as India opted to have a bowling line-up of Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Arshdeep Singh as fast-bowlers, while Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakaravarthy will handle the spin-bowling department.
Fans were left confused when India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl first but announced that Shami was not playing.
Shami not playing. Obviously not 100% fit for today.India has chosen to play only one frontline pacer in Arshdeep. Hardik-Nitish the two other pace options.England have fielded 4 proper pacers.Both captains seeing the pitch differently 🙌 #INDvENG #AakashVani— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 22, 2025
Bcci and media Hyped Shami.. Made special videos of him and then didn’t pick him 😂😂— Archer (@poserarcher) January 22, 2025
BCCI made a special vid for Md Shami regarding his comeback to the team after 1.5 years, but they are not even playing him in the first T20i. I really wanna know the reason, like??— Pallavi Anand (@PallaviSAnand) January 22, 2025
The wait to see Shami back in Indian colors continues pic.twitter.com/85fTxxsM8W— RCBIANS OFFICIAL (@RcbianOfficial) January 22, 2025
Mohd Shami to make his return after 430 days 🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/eVPiKyxn4x— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) January 22, 2025
How come Shami was not in playing XI and no journalist got to know about it and there was no leak before the toss? pic.twitter.com/17ZaKBFihG— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) January 22, 2025
Match beggins 🔥🔥But no shami…..— Kick buttowski (@Kiran4406) January 22, 2025
This is what Shami posted on social media before the start of the match –
Feels good to be back 💙 @pumacricket https://t.co/vHQslBxS3D— 𝕸𝖔𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖉 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖎 (@MdShami11) January 22, 2025
BCCI had posted a video on Shami, where he said: “I waited for an entire year and I worked very hard (to get back to full fitness). There was a sense of fear (of getting injured during rehabilitation) even while running."
“It is difficult for any player to get injured after being in full flow, go the NCA (National Cricket Academy) for rehabilitation and then make a comeback," he added.
“When you go through injuries, I feel you grow stronger as an athlete, this is what I feel. Because you have to repeat a lot of things while being mentally strong."
(With inputs from Agencies)
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