New Delhi: Mohammed Shami has been working diligently at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) newly inaugurated Centre of Excellence (CoE), and the pacer is expected to return to action soon. Although efforts were made to have him ready for the Bangladesh series, which India won 2-0, Shami’s comeback has now been realistically set for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
“Shami’s rehabilitation is progressing well, and the New Zealand Tests are being seen as a realistic target. He is under the close supervision of BCCI specialists and making very good progress,” said a senior BCCI official familiar with the situation.
Despite rumors circulating about his availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia later this year, Shami clarified his position through a social media post. “Why these baseless rumors? I am working hard and doing my best to recover. Neither the BCCI nor I have stated that I will miss the Border-Gavaskar series,” he wrote on Wednesday. Shami urged the public not to believe or spread misinformation, adding, “Please stop paying attention to fake, fake, fake & fake news, especially without any official statement from me.”
Shami has been sidelined since November last year due to an ankle injury, for which he underwent surgery in the United Kingdom in February. The procedure kept him out of action for six months, during which he was under the supervision of the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Initially, he was slated to return for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, starting on October 11.
Shami also attended the grand inauguration of the revamped NCA in Bengaluru on September 29. Now rebranded as the BCCI Centre of Excellence, the facility aims to elevate India’s cricket infrastructure.
