IND vs ENG: Why Mohammed Shami didn't play in first T20I vs England in Kolkata? Reason REVEALED
Amid the discussion on India’s convincing victory against England, Mohammed Shami’s exclusion from the playing XI for first T20I in Kolkata was one of the major talking points.
FollowTeam India kicked off a five-match T20I series against England with a seven-wicket win in the opening match at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22. With a target of 133 set by Jos Buttler’s side, the Men in Blue chased it down with 43 balls to spare.
Abhishek Sharma played a brilliant innings of 79 off 34 balls, while his opening partner Sanju Samson scored a quickfire 26 off 20 balls. Samson set the tone for the run-chase by smashing 22 runs off England pacer Gus Atkinson in a single over. Tilak Varma chipped in with an innings of 19 off 16 balls to help Team India chase down 133-run target in 12.5 overs.
Amid the discussion on India’s convincing victory against England, Mohammed Shami’s exclusion from the playing XI for first T20I in Kolkata was one of the major talking points. Shami was added to the 16-member squad for the T20I series against the touring England team, marking his return to Team India after a one year of injury hiatus. There was much anticipation to see the veteran pacer making his international appearance for the first time since the ODI World Cup 2023 Final.
When captain Suryakumar Yadav announced India’s playing XI after winning the toss, Shami’s name was missing from the list and Suryakumar didn’t give the reason behind his exclusion from the team for the T20I series opener in Kolkata. What was the reason Mohammed Shami was not included in the playing XI for the first T20I against England?
Opener Abhishek Sharma issued clarification on management’s decision to leave out Mohammed Shami for the first T20I, stating he was not included due to conditions and combination that proved to be good for at the Eden Gardens.
“I feel it's the decision of the team management and they thought it's a better option keeping in mind of these conditions," Abhishek said at the post-match press conference
Ever since Gautam Gambhir became the head coach of Team India, there has been a change in selection of players into the playing XI, especially T20I. Gambhir is more focused on picking players based on the conditions rather than star culture. In the first T20I against England, Team India management picked three spinners in Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi and one specialist pacer Arshdeep Singh. This combination didn’t backfire as England were bundled out for 132 in 20 overs.
However, it was reported that Team India management was not completely satisfied with Mohammed Shami’s injury recovery as he was spotted with his left knee strapped with a bandage during India’s nets sessions. The 34–year-old bowled close to half an hour at the side nets and targeting stumps. Another question about Mohammed Shami’s exclusion from the playing XI was whether the knee swelling was causing him trouble after bowling in full tilt in all the net sessions ahead of the opening match of the T20I series against England.
It remains to be seen whether the veteran pacer will be picked for the second T20I of the five-match series against Jos Buttler-led at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on January 25, Saturday.
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