NEW DELHI: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes the focus now shifts to Mohammed Shami as he returns from injury in India’s ongoing limited-overs series against England. Shami, who last played for India, before the England series, in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final in November 2023, is seen as a crucial asset for the team ahead of the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy.
“My biggest concern about India when they came for Australia in the Test series was [Jasprit] Bumrah not having Shami there as a backup and him having to burden most of the load,” Ponting said on The ICC Review.
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“And that’s probably what happened, and might even have something to do with why he [Bumrah] got hurt. He probably ended up having to bowl a bit more in that series with Shami not being there.
“So look, if Shami’s fit, that’s a positive.”
Shami made his return in the third and fourth T20Is against England, putting up an impressive performance with figures of 3/25 in his latest outing.
Former India head coach and cricketer Ravi Shastri emphasised the importance of managing Shami’s workload in the upcoming ODI series against England.
“It will be interesting to see if India play him out in all three, or they give him the first one and the third one, and then ease him into the Champions Trophy,” Shastri said.
“But he’ll be watched very closely because 10 overs is totally different to four overs, and then you’re going to see how he pulls up in the field as well having bowled those 10 overs.”
Shami’s form and fitness will be crucial for India as they begin their ICC Men’s Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai. With Bumrah already handling a significant workload, the return of a fully fit Shami could provide India with much-needed bowling depth and balance ahead of a crucial tournament.