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Young opening batsman Abhishek Sharma opened against veteran pacer Mohammad Shami, who was playing from XI in the opening match of the T20I series against the England national cricket team.
Abhishek Sharma played down any injury threat to the Packers and said that Mohammed Shami’s management of the Gautam Gambhir-led team will not be part of the completed alliance.
Also read: Mohammad Shami’s fresh injury confirmed as he missed the first IND vs ENG T20I.
Mohammad Shami is expected to make his comeback in Kolkata T20I
Ahead of the first T20I between India and England, all eyes were on Mohammed Shami as fans were confident that premier pacer Mohammed Shami would make his comeback to India on Wednesday, January 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
In particular, Shami has been sidelined for over a year with an ankle injury and has returned to competitive cricket a few months ago. To make matters worse, Pacer suffered some knee problems during his comeback and his hopes of participating in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 were dashed.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami was finally picked in the squad for the T20I series in England after proving his mettle in domestic cricket and was also named in the ODI squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 series against England.
The veteran pacer was surprisingly not picked in the XI for the first match of the T20I series in Kolkata as the team management opted for three spinners with Arshdeep Singh as the only specialist in the line-up.
The management of the group is the combination that suits the situation – Abhishek Sharma
Shami also looked completely out of sorts in his pre-match presentation. Although there were no signs of discomfort or injury, there were fears about fitness.
However, in the post-match press conference after the first T20I, Abhishek Sharma revealed that Shami’s exclusion had more to do with team cohesion than fitness. Gautam Gambhir and Co said that they have selected the playing XI based on the conditions at Eden Gardens.
“The team management has gone with the combination that suits the situation. That’s how I see it,” said left-arm spinner Shami on his complacency.
Mohammed Shami’s negligence again – the team management went with the combination that suited the circumstances. That’s how I see it: Abhishek
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) January 22, 2025
Abhishek, who played a stunning match-winning knock of 79 runs in the first T20I, went on to say that the coach and captain have given me a lot of faith.
“Coach and captain told me not to be afraid of failure and just go there and express my thoughts, it gives you confidence when coach and captain say that,” Abhishek Sharma added.
But there must be a reason why he is not playing behind Shami – Parthiv Patel
Former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel was also shocked after Mohammed Shami missed out on the playing XI and said:
“I think only the captain can tell you the reason or the team management. It’s amazing. We all hoped he would go after a long time.
But there must be a reason why he is not playing behind Shami, there must be something in your team that is why Shami is not playing.
