India might be in for some rough times before the five-test series against England as star bowler Mohammed Shami is looking unlikely to participate. According to one report by The Indian Express, concerns have been raised over his ability to bowl long spells. The BCCI medical team has ruled that the player will not be able to bowl extended spells, which means the likelihood of him featuring in all five Tests is quite slim:
Adding to the woes is the fact that Jasprit Bumrah, who is considered a front-line bowler and an option for captaincy, is also unlikely to play all five tests because of workload management. There are about 20 days left for the start of the series, so India is in a wicket-taking pickle.
There has been some chatter about possibly bringing Shami for just a couple of matches. This, however, has added another layer of complexity for the selection committee with Bumrah himself stating he wouldn’t be able to play more than three Tests. The intention is to bring those bowlers who have the ability to bowl longer spells as and when required.
A BCCI source said, “Shami is only bowling four overs in the IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad but we do not know if he can bowl more than 10 overs in a day. The Test matches in England will require a lot more from the pacers, and we cannot take that risk. Shami last played a Test during the 2023 World Test Championship final against Australia.”
The absence of Shami would pave way for the left-arm Pacer Arshdeep Singh or produce another option in Anshul Kamboj, who has taken 74 wickets in his 22 first-class matches. Arshdeep could potentially be a strong choice, given the county cricket exposure he got last year. Shami had a fairly big series in 2021 when India toured England, taking four wickets in one of the matches and would certainly have figured highly once more.
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Other than having surgery on his ankle sometime last year, Shami was back in action at the start of 2025 and played the Champions Trophy. Regrettably, Shami has missed some big occasions for India of late, including the 2024 T20 World Cup held in the USA as well as recent series like the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
