The question surrounding Mohammed Shami’s fitness has finally been answered as the fast bowler is not fit enough to take part in the fourth Test between India and England at Mumbai. He will be replaced in the starting XI by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who impressed the previous two occasions in which he returned to the Test side.
One 26-year-old right-arm fast bowler will be replaced by another as Bhuvi will return to the starting XI for the first time since taking part in the second Test against New Zealand in Kolkata. Since then, he has just played one first-class match, in which he didn’t pick up any wickets.
England won the toss and elected to bat first, after having made two changes to the side with Keaton Jennings coming in for Haseeb Hameed and Jake Ball coming in for Gareth Batty. At the toss, Kohli said that KL Rahul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be India's two changes to the side, in place of Ajinkya Rahane and Mohammed Shami.
Extra Cover: Manish Pandey replaces injured Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur comes in as back up for Shami
Speaking ahead of the game, Virat Kohli admitted that the call on whether Mohammed Shami plays will be taken before the game. “After the Mohali Test, he felt some soreness in the knee. We will have to take a collective decision because he has had a history with knee problems. You don’t want to push a player so much so that you lose him for the rest of the season. We still have some time to decide.
Speaking about the injuries to the fast bowlers, that has recently plagued India, the Test skipper admitted that he was not “really concerned” as the replacement has always stepped up.
“Whoever has stepped in has given match winning performances. If you look at Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) , he got to play in St Lucia and Kolkata and picked up five wickets both times. I am not worried because the guys outside are waiting for opportunities. It is great for the team,” Kohli added.
It was earlier reported that it was a niggle to Shami, ahead of the third Test at Mohali, which meant that there were no back-up openers in the squad and five fast bowlers instead. And the selector’s decision to pick Shardul Thakur in the squad is a good option, especially with Ishant Sharma, being unavailable, as he has his wedding to take care of.
Extra Cover: Why India had no back-up opener in the squad for the third Test at Mohali
Although India are without the services of Mohammed Shami, who has been one of India’s most consistent performers this year, the fact that Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up a five-wicket haul, the last two times he was called back to the XI means that Virat Kohli will not be as concerned as he otherwise would be.
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