Huge blow! Two all-format India pacers suffer injuries ahead of Asia Cup 2025

North Zone’s hopes of making it to the semifinals of the Duleep Trophy 2025 ended in a dramatic fashion, as two of their frontline pacers, Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar, did not bowl much in the second innings, leaving fans and selectors worried.

Mohammed Shami, who had sent down 11 overs earlier, was expected to take the field again on Day 4. He even arrived in his whites before play began, but to everyone’s surprise, he stayed off the ground. The seasoned pacer was seen in whites in the dressing room in Bengaluru.

India pacer Mohammed Shami’s toe injury frustrated the East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025

The mystery was later cleared by East Zone skipper Riyan Parag. He revealed that Shami hurt his toe after rolling over it, with a spike from his shoe worsening the injury. The skipper said that this setback ruled Team India pacer out of further participation with the ball in the match.

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Riyan Parag was quoted as saying by the Times of India, “No, I think he rolled over on his toe, and the other spike went over his toe, so that's why he couldn't bowl.”

Mukesh Kumar suffers a thigh niggle during the Duleep Trophy 2025 QF

Additionally, East Zone and Team India fast bowler Mukesh Kumar did not also return for the second innings against North Zone in the quarterfinal of the Duleep Trophy 2025. Mukesh Kumar had reportedly complained of a thigh niggle during his earlier spell.

The bowler was kept away as a precaution, leaving the bowling unit short of two strike bowlers. With both Shami and Mukesh missing, East Zone was forced to depend heavily on the part-time bowlers against North Zone.

However, the game ended in a draw, and North Zone made it to the semifinals of the Duleep Trophy 2025 on the basis of their first-innings lead in the quarterfinal.

Mohammed Shami’s comeback story in red-ball cricket

Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami’s much-awaited return to red-ball cricket turned into a disappointment at the 2025 Duleep Trophy, raising questions about his rhythm, fitness, and his Team India future. The veteran pacer struggled to make a mark, ending with just one wicket across both innings.

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On day one, the 34-year-old looked rusty in his opening bursts. His first two spells, 5-2-10-0 and 3-0-10-0, were solid but troubled batters as he used to. North Zone’s openers Ankit Kumar and Shubham Khajuria played him comfortably, even when he beat the outside edge a few times.

However, after lunch, the fans finally saw glimpses of the old India bowler Shami. His third spell (4-2-9-0) had extra pace and movement, testing batters like Ayush Badoni and Nishant Sindhu with sharp in-dippers that struck their pads in Bengaluru.

Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar disappoint East Zone

Shami’s breakthrough finally arrived in his fourth spell (5-0-26-1) when Sahil Lotra edged an ambitious drive. Before that, he could have struck earlier had wicket-keeper Kumar Kushagra not dropped Kanhaiya Wadhawan on 27.

Overall, Shami conceded 100 runs from 23 overs in the first innings and later bowled only 11 overs in their second innings and gave away 36 runs and scalped one wicket in the Duleep Trophy 2025. On the other hand, Mukesh Kumar bowled only in the first innings, conceding 50 runs in 14.5 overs and scalping one wicket in the quarterfinal clash in Bengaluru.