"What a joke" Fans left fuming as Mohammed Shami gets excluded from India's playing XI for 1st T20I vs England

Mohammed Shami last played for India in the World Cup 2023 final.

A layer of uncertainty around Mohammed Shami’s fitness was further added when the fast bowler was excluded from India’s playing XI for the 1st T20I against England despite being seen bowling in the nets.

Mohammed Shami’s much-awaited return to international cricket – he last played in the national jersey in November 2023 – has been further delayed.

He was named in the squad that will host England in a five-match T20I series, which began on January 22 in Kolkata. But he was not part of the playing XI named by captain Suryakumar Yadav for the first match of the series at the Eden Gardens.

A couple of days ago, the 34-year-old Shami bowled for over an hour in the nets with his knee strapped, with bowling coach Morne Morkel observing him closely.

While Shami has recovered from the ankle injury that had kept him out of action for almost a year, he had developed swelling in his knees while playing domestic cricket. The knee issue was said to be the reason he was not picked for the latter part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia.

He was spotted bowling in the nets on the match day in Kolkata with knee straps. It feels that Shami may have not fully healed from his knee issues and that’s why he’s not been included in the XI for the first T20I against England.

His exclusion left the fans baffled as they had been patiently waiting for his comeback to the Indian team.

Fans react as Mohammed Shami gets excluded from India’s playing XI for 1st T20I vs England:

IND vs ENG 1st T20I Playing XIs:

England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Philip Salt(w), Jos Buttler(c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

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