Kohli indicates Shami could return for Dharamsala Test
Virat Kohli has hinted that Mohammed Shami could feature in the final Test against Australia in Dharamsala starting on March 25 following his impressive performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final. Speedster Shami last played for India in the England series before suffering a knee injury.
Shami was a part of the Bengal team that lost in the Vijay Hazare final to Tamil Nadu but his individual display has brought him back in the running for a National spot. The pacer finished with figures of 4/26 runs in 8.2 overs in the match that Tamil Nadu won by 37 runs.
Kohli had wanted Shami to play in the Vijay Hazare final to test his fitness.
“We sent him to play because we saw him bowling 10 to 12 overs at a go. So we wanted to give him some match practice,” Kohli said during the post-match media conference after the drawn third Test in Ranchi.
“I haven’t spoken to the selectors, yet so all kind of possibilities are there before the next Test."
Shami could play a big part in Dharamsala considering that the conditions there aid swing and seam bowling. The series is level at 1-1.
Sunil Gavaskar has suggested that batting-heavy India should opt for an extra bowler to put pressure on the Aussie batting line-up.
"India's batting has benefited by the fact that you have somebody like (Ravichandran) Ashwin, somebody like a Wriddhiman Saha at No 6, 7 and 8. And if Jadeja can come score runs as he has done in this series then I think it really makes sense to go back to five bowlers and six batsmen theory," Gavaskar told NDTV.