India’s excellent start in the Australia series was thwarted after their defeat in the 2nd Test in Adelaide.
The Day-Night Test in Adelaide was a nightmare again for the Indian team as they suffered a defeat by 10 wickets.
With the defeat, India’s chances of making it to the WTC Final has further jeopardized as they need two wins out of the last three matches in the series.
Amid this, the Indian team will have to look for an answer regarding their bowling unit in the upcoming matches. Harshit Rana, who has played both Tests was largely ineffective in the Adelaide encounter. He ended up without a wicket and managed two ducks in two innings.
With the 3rd Test set to start in Brisbane from Saturday (December 14), the Indian think tank will have to decide on their lineup. Harshit Rana is likely to make a move away from the lineup. India has Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep already in the side and either of the duo can be introduced for the Gabba Test, but a more enticing factor will be Mohammed Shami, who is poised to join the Indian squad.
Mohammed Shami’s knee swelling ruled him out of the New Zealand series and a chance to feature in Australia, but the India pacer is currently performing well for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. As per reports, Shami’s kit bag has already reached Australia and a positive verdict from National Cricket Academy (NCA) doctors will book his flight to Australia.
The 34-year-old has an excellent record down under and India may be inclined to find Shami a spot in the upcoming matches.
IND vs AUS: Will Mohammed Shami play 3rd Test in Brisbane?
Mohammed Shami played on Monday (December 9) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Bengal. The pacer scored an excellent 32 runs off just 17 deliveries, which helped Bengal to beat Chandigarh in the pre-quarterfinal. With the 3rd Test starting on Saturday, it may be a little too late already for the India pacer to feature in Brisbane.
If Shami gets the NOC from NCA, he would like to play the Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) campaign and then take the flight to Australia. The SMAT final is scheduled on Sunday (December 15), and the fourth Test in Melbourne will start on December 26 – which will provide Shami ample time to reach Australia and get acclimatized with the conditions.