New Delhi: Pace bowler Mohammed Shami whose bowling hand was fractured Saturday while batting on the third day of the first Test match in Adelaide, has been advised rest for six weeks. He will be flying out of Australia for India, Wednesday. The right-arm pace bowler will need to undergo a brief period of quarantine on arrival in India. Mohammed Shami, 30, suffered a fracture after he was hit by a ball from Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins.
Shami could not pick the bat and was in pain. It has been learned that scans have revealed a fracture on his hand. As a result he will not participate in the last three Test matches to be played in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
“Shami has been advised six weeks of rest and he will be leaving Wednesday for India Wednesday,” a source told this agency. Shami should be fit by the end of January after undergoing the six-week rest period, the source added.
India’s full series against England begins February 5, with the first of the four Tests at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Shami’s injury is a big blow during the ongoing tour of Australia for India. They are already without skipper Virat Kohli, who is returning to attend the birth of his first child.
The pacer was one of India’s bowling heroes during the last tour of Australia, picking 16 of the 48 wickets taken by India’s pace trio comprising him, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma.
In the calendar year 2018, the Bumrah-Shami-Ishant combine took 136 wickets together. It is considered a milestone for the trio. They beat the haul of Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner (130 wickets in 1984). In fact, 45 of those 136 wickets came in the first three Tests in Australia in 2018.
Now with Ishant and Shami both out of the equation, the Indian attack will wear an inexperienced look. It is one of the main reasons why Sunil Gavaskar has said that Ishant should be rushed to Australia if he is fit.