'He’s sitting at NCA for I don't know how long' - Ravi Shastri slams BCCI over Mohammed Shami's injury management
"Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia," said Shastri.
The leading wicket-taker at the 2023 edition of the World Cup, Mohammed Shami, faced an immense setback after being ruled out of competitive cricket duee to an ankle injury. He was ruled out from playing the sport for nearly an entire year. He finally made his comeback while representing Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and then the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He is currently plying his trade in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Former Indian cricketer, Ravi Shastri, questioned the lack of clarity provided by the Board of Control for Cricket in India as far on Shami's fitness. He conceded that he would have ensured Shami travels with the team to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India eventually lost by a 3-1 margin.
“To be honest, I was very surprised with the communication going on in the media as to what exactly happened to Mohammed Shami. Where is he when it comes to recovery? He’s been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long. Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia," said Shastri while speaking to ICC.
Shastri further spoke on how he would have wanted Shami to be exposed to leading professionals in the medical field Down Under in a bid to track his recovery to optimal fitness.
"I would have kept him (Shami) part of the team and made sure that his rehabilitation was done with the team. And then if we thought by the third Test match that, 'no, this guy can’t play the rest of the series,' I would let him go. But I would have brought him with the team, kept him, monitored him with the best of the physios and best of the advice even from international physios who are in Australia and seeing how he went. But, I would have kept him in the mix," added Shastri.
Was really surprised when he wasn’t flown out even halfway through the series: Ponting
Part of the same discussion,, Ricky Ponting resonated with Shastri's stance too: “I was really surprised when he wasn’t flown out even halfway through the series, two Test matches in. If Shami, Bumrah and Siraj were in their starting team, I think things could have been completely different here in Australia."
Interestingly, even Rohit Sharma seemed to be clueless on the position of Shami's fitness and availability of the series. In a press conference during the series, Rohit transferred the onus on the National Cricket Academy, citing that the pacer had "“some complaints about his knee".
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