Mohammed Shami returns to India XI after 14 months; first T20I in more than 2 years

Mohammed Shami is back. The pacer has been named in the playing XI for the third T20I against England in Rajkot.

Mohammed Shami is back. After warming the bench in the first two T20Is against England, the speedster has been named in the playing XI for the third T20I at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. Shami replaced Arshdeep Singh for the third game of the five-match series.

Mohammed Shami is back. The pacer has been named in the playing XI for the third T20I against England in Rajkot. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)(AP)

This marks Shami's return to international cricket after over a year. This is also his first T20I for India in more than two years. He last played a T20I for India in November 2022.

His last international match for India was the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia. Ahead of the third T20I against England, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak confirmed Shami is fit and there are no injury concerns.

He also stated that head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav have their plans ready, and everything is being done accordingly.

Everyone expected Shami to play the series opener at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata once he was named in the squad. However, he wasn't included in the team for the opening two T20Is in Kolkata and Chennai.

Shami part of the Champions Trophy squad

Shami is also a part of India's squad for the Champions Trophy, so the speedster must get a few overs under his belt.

The 34-year-old returned to competitive cricket last year after recovering from an ankle injury. He played for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

However, these domestic performances weren't enough for the selectors to pick him for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Coming back to the third T20I against England, India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl first.

India have a 2-0 lead in the five-match series and if the hosts win in Rajkot, they will gain an unassailable lead.

England have not made any changes to their playing XI from the second T20I while India made one change to their lineup.

Playing XIs:

India: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Dhruv Jurel, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy

England: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith(w), Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood