India pacer Mohammed Shami dismissed the reports of his participation in the Australia tour in November this year being in danger. Shami trashed the reports as "baseless" and urged people not to spread "fake news". On Wednesday morning, a report in The Times of India claimed that Shami's recovery from the ankle injury that has kept him out of action for close to a year now, has taken a hit and his participation in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy may be doubtful.
The report quoted a BCCI source who claimed that Shami had developed a fresh problem in his knees that may take more time than expected to heal. "Shami had resumed bowling, and he was looking on track to make a comeback to competitive cricket soon. But this knee injury has flared up recently. BCCI's medical team is assessing the injury, but it may require quite a bit of time."
Various other news outlets covered the report. On Wednesday evening, Shami, with a collage of those reports, said people should not believe such stories if it is not coming directly from the BCCI or him.
"Why these type of baseless rumors? I'm working hard and trying my level best to recover. Neither the BCCI nor me have mentioned that I am out of the Border Gavaskar series. I request the public to stop paying attention to such news from unofficial sources. Please stop and don’t spread such fake fake fake & fake news, especially without my statement," Shami wrote on X.
Shami's long road to recovery
Shami hasn't played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament. Battling an ankle injury, Shami opted for surgery which ruled him out of the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup. Over the last couple of months, Shami has been constantly sharing images of him practicing, showing his progress on the road to recovery.
{{/usCountry}}Shami hasn't played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament. Battling an ankle injury, Shami opted for surgery which ruled him out of the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup. Over the last couple of months, Shami has been constantly sharing images of him practicing, showing his progress on the road to recovery.
{{/usCountry}}He recently addressed his impending return, stressing on the importance of not rushing back in. Despite being away from action, his name continues to pop up every now and then, such as on Day 5 of the Kanpur Test, when Ravi Shastri mentioned him and the importance of having him around in Australia.
Shami was an integral part of India's series wins in Australia in 2018-19 and in 2020-21. Along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, he is India's key weapon with the ball.
In the 8 Tests that Shami has played in Australia since making his first appearance in 2014, the right-arm seamer has picked up 31 wickets at an average of 32.