Ajit Agarkar breaks silence on Mohammed Shami’s inclusion in India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Mohammed Shami will also be part of the India squad for the T20I and ODI series at home against England ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
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Mohammed Shami (Via BCCI/X)
BCCI have already announced the India squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in 2025. There has been good news for the fans as the veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami has made his return to the national team. He had suffered an injury after the ODI World Cup 2023 and was out of cricket for one and a half years.
Shami will feature in the T20I and the ODI series against England ahead of the Champions Trophy. The Indian team has greatly missed him, as he offers skills along with experience to the Indian bowling attack. The Bengal pacer will be bowling in tandem with the star Jasprit Bumrah in CT 2025.
Recently he has featured in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 and the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. However, there were talks of him getting included in the squad in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25.
The selectors did not ultimately include him, as they felt that he was not fit enough and ready for red ball cricket. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has talked about Shami’s inclusion in the squad for CT 2025.
I don’t think his fitness was anything to do with white-ball cricket, anyway. We were trying to get him to Australia. Unfortunately, his knee didn’t allow him to play four-day or five-day cricket. With regards to white-ball, I think he has played most of the Syed Mushtaq Ali games and some of the Vijay Hazare games. With uncertainty around Jassi as well, if he (Shami) is fit and playing regularly, the quality and the experience that he brings is invaluable.
Ajit Agarkar said at the press-conference
Sanjay Bangar feels that Mohammed Shami should not be included in India’s playing XI in the Champions Trophy 2025
Former Indian batter and batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels that India should play two pacers in the form of Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, and the third pacer should be the all-rounder Hardik Pandya. It means that Shami will be left out of the playing XI.
You eliminate one of the fast bowlers. If Arshdeep and Bumrah are both available, then you can afford to leave out somebody like a Shami. So for me, Shami is not a starter. Then one between Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel and one reserve wicketkeeper. So in this case, Rishabh Pant may be on the benches. My XI would be Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
Sanjay Bangar said via Star Sports
India started the ODI World Cup 2023 without Shami in the playing XI. However, after the injury to Pandya, India brought back Shami into the playing XI, and he became the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 24 wickets. The Bengal pacer was one of the main reasons why India qualified for the final of the tournament, as he scalped a seven-wicket haul in the semi-final against New Zealand.
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Rohit Sarkar
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