Mohammed Shami, after missing the last two Test matches against England in the recently concluded series, is set to be absent from the ODI squad as well. The India pacer has been ruled out of the series due to a knee injury.
Shami was quite impressive in the three Test matches against England, picking up 10 wickets in conditions, which did not assist the seamers too much. The bowler used his brilliant skills with both the old and new ball to be effective in the three matches.
Unfortunately, India will not be able to avail his experience in the ODI series. Though Shami will be missed in the series, no doubt, Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma, who managed to take three wickets in the Chennai Test, could replace Shami and spearhead the pace attack.
Ishant is also a world class bowler, but has also suffered injuries in the past, leading to his absence from the national squad. With Ishant fit and available, the lanky pacer will be a perfect replacement and can play an important role for India in the ODI series, but the final call will be made when the selectors meet to pick the ODI squad. India and England will battle it out in the five-match ODI series from January 15.
Shami is not new to knee injuries as he was out of the team for quite some time recovering from a left-knee injury, and this time it is the right-knee injury. Such kind of injuries have been haunting team India of late.
Some of the big names in India cricket like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan did not feature in the Test series against England due to their respective injuries. Players like Shami, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane also got injured during the Test series, which is a cause of concern with players getting injured quite frequently.
However, on the positive note, India seems to have a solid pool of players as the home side defeated England without playing their strongest eleven in any of the matches. India will hope for their ODI stars to deliver against England as well.
