BCCI show no rush in flying Mohammed Shami to Australia after Perth Test win; Ajit Agarkar yet to take call: Report

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in no hurry to send India fast bowler Mohammed Shami to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Test series as the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is yet to take a call on the pacer, who is currently fit and playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Bengal.

Shami was sidelined for exactly a year after incurring an ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup final last year. He later underwent surgery in February this year and only played his first competitive game since the injury in a Ranji Trophy game for Bengal earlier this month, picking a five-wicket haul against Madhya Pradesh in Indore.

Experts urged BCCI to fly Shami to Australia immediately, but the board decided not to rush the senior fast bowler back to international action. According to a report in the Times of India, Shami is not in BCCI’s plans to travel to Australia.

“There has been no conversation around trying to send Shami to Australia, atleast for now. At the moment, the fast bowlers chosen for the tour and the first XI in the opening Test at Perth are doing their job very well,” a source in the Board said.

Shami was hence picked for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he picked up a three-wicket haul, further strengthening his case for a comeback in the Australia Test series.

How did India fare in the 1st Australia Test?

India scripted a massive 295-run win against the Aussies in the series opener in Perth on Monday. It was their second-biggest win in Australia and second in Perth, although the previous win, in 2008, came at the WACA, the old Test venue.

India did show similar concerns after being bowled out for just 150 on the opening day, but the bowlers brought the team back with stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah picking up a five-wicket haul. India secured a slender 46-run lead, following which KL Rahul and centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a record 201-run stand. Later Virat Kohli scored a century as well, his first in 16 months, as India handed Australia a humongous target of 534. Once again, it was the bowlers who rose to the occasion to fold Australia for just 238, giving India took a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series.