Hamstring injury rules Shami out of Aus tour

Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of India’s limited-overs assignment in Australia after sustaining a hamstring injury while training ahead of the first tour game against Western Australia XI on Friday (January 8). Scans after the game revealed a Grade II injury to the pacer’s left hamstring, which will require up to six weeks of recovery and rehabilitation.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be flown in as replacement for the injured Shami. Shami, 25, was on his comeback trail and had only just returned to the Indian setup after being forced into a lengthy layoff for a knee injury picked up during the World Cup 2015, one for which he underwent surgery.

The Bengal pacer, who finished as India’s second highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps at 17.29 in the quadrennial event, returned to national reckoning after promising performances in the 50-over domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he returned figures of 1 for 40 and 2 for 52 from the two games. 

He followed that up with five more wickets from two T20 games. Bhuvneshwar, who was left out of the One-Day International squad in favour of the returning Shami, is expected to join the squad on Sunday.

The first of the five-match ODI series will be played in Perth on January 12. It is understood that Jasprit Bumrah, the Gujarat pacer, has been put on standby. 

The lanky fast bowler has made big strides in the ongoing domestic season, finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare trophy (21 wickets in 9 matches) as Gujarat were crowned champions.

“The BCCI medical team confirms that Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of India’s tour of Australia due to injury. 

“He sustained a Grade II injury to his left hamstring, which will restrict him from playing active cricket for about 4 to 6 weeks,” BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the replacement, who will join the team on Sunday,” he added.