Indian captain Rohit Sharma provides a big update on Mohammed Shami's availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. There were reports that BCCI is awaiting NCA's clearance to fly Shami to Australia. Speculations were rife that Shami could join India ahead of the third Test in Brisbane. Rohit, however, provided a big update and said the India pacer picked up a niggle in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). He added that the door to the Indian team is open for Shami, but the team does not want to rush him into the side.

"We are just monitoring him because while playing Syed Mushtaq Ali, he got some swelling in his knee, which hampers his preparation to come and play a Test match. We want to be very careful, we don't want to bring him here, he pulls up sore or something happens.

"We want to be more than 100% sure with him because it has been a long time. We don't want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. There are some professionals monitoring, we will take a call based on what those guys feel. They are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. But the door is open for him to come and play anytime."

Shami didn't play any cricket post the ODI World Cup 2024 due to an injury. He made a comeback for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy where he picked seven wickets to lead his team to a win over Madhya Pradesh. Shami later represented the state in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). He played seven matches and took impressive eight wickets. Shami is likely to join the Indian squad at some time if there are no more setbacks.

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