India Concerned About Mohammed Shami’s Ankle Issue; To Depart For South Africa On December 6: Reports

The veteran India National Cricket Team right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami has been facing issues with his ankle and it has become a major cause of concern for the team management and BCCI ahead of the South Africa tour.

India recently finished their 5-match home T20I series against Australia and they will next travel to South Africa for an all-format tour. The tour will start with a three-match T20I series that will be played on December 10, 12, and 14 in Durban, Gqeberha, and Johannesburg.

Next, the teams will lock horns in a three-match ODI series that will be played on December 17, 19, and 21 in Johannesburg, Gqeberha, and Paarl. The Men In Blue and the Proteas will then play two Test matches to wrap up the series with the first Test starting on December 26 in Centurion. The second and final Test will be played from January 3 in Cape Town.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already announced the squads for the tour. Rohit Sharma will be leading the team in Test cricket while KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav have been handed the leadership responsibility for ODIs and T20Is.

One of the big talking points coming out of the squad announcement was the question mark over the availability of Mohammed Shami. The BCCI included him in the Test squad, but his availability was subject to fitness.

“Mr. Mohd. Shami is currently undergoing medical treatment, and his availability is subject to fitness,” said the BCCI at the time of announcing the squad on November 30.

Mohammed Shami Dealing With Ankle Niggle Since World Cup – Reports

According to a report in Cricbuzz, Mohammed Shami has been dealing with a niggle in his ankle, a concern that has persisted since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Despite facing discomfort in his ankle while bowling, Mohammed Shami delivered an absolutely stupendous performance in the competition.

Mohammed Shami wasn’t the first-choice pacer of India, but an injury to all-rounder Hardik Pandya paved the way for his inclusion in the playing XI. After getting into the team, the pacer delivered back-to-back exceptional performances and destroyed the opposition teams.

He finished the competition as the leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets in 7 matches and the best bowling figures of 7/57. He picked up his wickets at an average of, 10.70, an economy of 5.26, and a strike rate of 12.20.

Coming back to the South Africa tour, Team India will leave for Durban via Dubai from Bengaluru in the early hours of Wednesday, December 6. India head coach Rahul Dravid will fly with the T20I squad on the same day.

India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.

India’s squad for 3 T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.

India’s squad for 3 ODIs: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C)(wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.