Mohammed Shami Doubtful For India Tour Of England

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Mohammed Shami’s selection is doubtful to play in the India Tour Of England

India’s experienced fast bowler Mohammed Shami may not be able to be a part of the team for the 5-Test series starting from June 20 against England.

Test level workload is not ready yet

He may be bowling for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025, but he has not built the necessary workload for Test cricket till now. Shami played his last Test in June 2023 in the World Test Championship final against Australia.

BCCI assessed his fitness in Lucknow

A medical expert of BCCI checked his fitness before the SRH vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru match in Lucknow this week. The selection committee wanted to keep him in the India A team so that he could gradually increase his bowling workload, but due to a lack of clarity on his preparations to bowl long spells, this plan was dropped. The final decision is not clear yet, but there are chances that the selectors may not take the risk if the medical report is not positive.

Knee pain has now become a concern after surgery

Shami made a successful recovery after ankle surgery in February 2024, but now he has pain in his right knee for which he is undergoing treatment. This problem is not stopping him from bowling, but is affecting his plan to gradually increase his workload, due to which his availability has become a concern for the selection panel. Past performance was strong, but now the form has deteriorated

Mohammed Shami was India’s top wicket-taker in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he bowled quite impressively despite the pain. But after that he missed the whole of 2024 due to surgery and recovery. In January 2025, he made a comeback in the limited-overs series against England. He was also the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the Champions Trophy 2025, but now his form seems to be struggling in IPL 2025 – only 6 wickets in 9 matches and an economy of 11.23.

Selectors focus on replacement options

If Shami is not included in the final squad, then the selectors have many bowling options to replace him, which include Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, and Harshit Rana.

Squad announcement expected on Saturday

India’s full squad for the India Tour of England is likely to be announced by Saturday afternoon, and whether Shami’s name is in it or not will depend on his medical report.

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