On Friday, 14 October, the All-India Selection Committee announced Mohammed Shami as the replacement of injured pacer Jasprit Bumrah in India's squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the competition earlier this month, owing to a back stress fracture. Shami and Deepak Chahar, who had originally been named on the standby list, were among the front-runners to replace Bumrah, but Chahar too sustained an injury during India’s series against South Africa.
Shami departed for Australia on Wednesday, 12 October. His inclusion in the 15-man squad and Chahar’s omission has opened up two vacant seats on the standby list of the Indian team.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have confirmed that those two places will be taken up by pacers Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur, who will leave for Australia soon.
"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mohammed Shami as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad. Shami has reached Australia and will link up with the squad in Brisbane ahead of the warm-up matches. Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have been named as backups and will travel to Australia shortly," the BCCI wrote in a statement.
Shami To Make T20I Comeback After 11 Months
Mohammed Shami made his T20I debut back in 2021, and since then, he has racked up 17 appearances for the national team in this format. The Amroha-born pacer has 18 T20I wickets to his name, at an average of 31.55 and an economy rate of 9.54 runs per over.
Interestingly, Shami has not featured in this format since the last T20 World Cup, where he scalped six wickets in five matches. His last appearance for India was back in July, when he played three ODI matches against India.
The 32-year-old speedster was expected to play in the recently concluded series against Australia and South Africa, but a positive COVID-19 diagnosis prevented him from doing so.
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