Ravi Shastri urges India to bring back Mohammed Shami for Border-Gavaskar trophy

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that India would benefit from fast-bowler Mohammed Shami’s return to the squad as soon as possible for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

Shami, who had been sidelined for 360 days due to an Achilles injury that required surgery, made a successful return to competitive cricket in the ongoing Ranji Trophy match for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh. The 33-year-old bowled 19 overs and claimed 4/54, signaling that he is on track to regain his best form.

"If anything, I would have wanted a little more support for Jasprit (Bumrah) in the pace attack. So the quicker Shami gets fit and is on a flight, the better it is for India," Shastri said on the ICC Review show.

Shami is expected to be available for the latter half of India’s Border-Gavaskar campaign, which begins on November 22 in Perth and includes matches in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney until January 7, 2025.

India needs to win four of the five Tests in Australia to secure a place in a third consecutive World Test Championship final. With 229 wickets in 64 Tests, Shami has proven to be a key figure in India's pace attack, playing a crucial role in the historic 2018/19 Test series win in Australia, where he claimed 16 wickets in four matches.