India sweat on Mohammed Shami's fitness ahead of South African assignment

Ahead of India’s tour to South Africa, Mohammed Shami’s injury is a bit concerning for the team management. The ace pacer has injured his ankle, but despite this, he continued to make a mark in the recently concluded ODI World Cup, finishing as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. However, for the upcoming South Africa tour, the 33-year-old hasn’t been cleared to return as his progress is being closely monitored.

Shami has been included only in the Test squad and is understandably rested for the white-ball series, which includes a three-match T20I and ODI series. He is also part of the squad that will play a three-day warm-up game before the first Test on Boxing Day (December 26) in Centurion.

On the other hand, the T20I squad, led by Suryakumar Yadav will leave for South Africa in the early hours of Wednesday (December 6). Head coach Rahul Dravid and his support staff will travel with the team as the first T20I is slated to be played on December 10. As per reports, the Indian cricketers will travel from Bengaluru to Dubai and then to South Africa.

Meanwhile, if Shami misses out on the red-ball series, Prasidh Krishna is likely to pair with Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Shardul Thakur meanwhile remains a fourth pace option as it’s likely that the Rohit Sharma-led side will play four pacers alongside Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin. Mukesh Kumar too is travelling with the Test side and it would be interesting if the team uses him for the series.

The pacer has a tremendous record in the domestic circuit and following which, he has been called up a few times as the 30-year-old has played only one Test match so far. He played against West Indies earlier in the year and picked up two wickets in the match. Recently, Ashwin called him the next Shami of Indian cricket and hence, it needs to be seen how the team management uses him in the two-match series.