Mohammed Shami decides to end red-ball career, shifts focus to white-ball format

India fast bowler Mohammed Shami is likely to miss the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy despite the possibility of him being available for the series at some point. It is believed that the decision to play the series relies on Shami himself.

However, Shami will prepare himself to be 100% fit for the Champions Trophy and the Indian Premier League to be played next year. The fast bowler had undergone surgery earlier this year and just made a comeback in domestic cricket a month ago in the Ranji Trophy.

While he has looked in good form and maintained full fitness in the domestic games, he will be careful before making himself available for the Test series in Australia. Even the Indian team management has been very careful around Shami's comeback and don't want to rush him in.

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Mohammed Shami to miss BGT 2024-25 due to IPL 2025

Mohammed Shami has played one Ranji Trophy match and eight Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches since returning back to action from surgery. However, it is believed that the fast bowler himself does not consider himself fully fit for the hard grind of Test cricket.

A BCCI source revealed that Shami might choose to preserve himself for the Champions Trophy 2025 and the IPL 2025 instead of rushing himself in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 10 crore for the upcoming IPL season.

The source revealed the status of Mohammed Shami's current fitness and revealed that the swelling is still troubling him. He mentioned that the right-arm quick wants to play more domestic cricket before making himself available for Tests.

"The swelling seems to come and go. He himself is keen on playing more and more domestic cricket and hence the possibility of him once again playing Vijay Hazare Trophy for Bengal (starting December 21) looks imminent at the moment," the BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI.

Playing in Australia a big risk for Mohammed Shami

The anonymous source further argued that it would be a big risk for Shami to play on hard Australian grounds as it can have a bad effect on his knee. According to him, a big IPL deal might prompt the fast bowler to preserve himself for the tournament.

"(Mohammed) Shami is at the business end of his career. What if his knee acts up badly in Australia after a long spell? He will have to field on hard grounds. He missed the last IPL due to ankle surgery," the source claimed.

"This time, he has a hefty Rs 10 crore deal with SRH. You can't blame him if he wants to preserve himself for white ball format for now," he added.

Mohammed Shami's numbers after the comeback

Mohammed Shami looked in good rhythm in the only Ranji Trophy game he has played this season so far. He picked up seven wickets which included a four-wicket haul in the first innings of the match. He also scored a crucial 37 with bat in the second innings to take Bengal to a thrilling 11-run win over Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, he picked up 11 wickets in nine matches of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 at an economy rate of 7.85. His all-round game also helped Bengal seal a thrilling win over Chandigarh and book their place in the quarter-finals.