Ravi Shastri, dissatisfied with the way Mohammad Shami was opted out of the Indian squad for the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), has raised questions about Shami’s injury management. He has also opined that the veteran pacer could have tilted the series in India’s favor had he been added to the squad in the second half of the five-match Border-Gavaskar series. 

India’s decade-long stranglehold on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended after they went down by six wickets in Sydney to lose the series 1-3.

The pacer, after recovering from an ankle injury, returned to action for his home state Bengal and impressed in all three formats-Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali T20, and Vijay Hazare one-day matches-raising hopes of a late inclusion.

But he was officially ruled out before the fourth Test in Melbourne with the BCCI medical team citing a knee swelling, though both Ponting and Shastri believe a trip to Australia and a return late in the series could have been pushed.

“To be honest, I was very surprised with the communication going on in the media as to what exactly happened to Mohammed Shami,” the former Indian head coach stated in The ICC Review.

He added, “Where is he when it comes to recovery? He’s been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long. Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia.” 

The 62-year-old further said it would have been beneficial if Shami had, at least, travelled with the group in Australia. “I would have kept him part of the team and made sure that his rehabilitation was done with the team,” said Shastri.