Rohit Sharma expresses concern over Shami's 'recent setback', emphasizes need to avoid him being 'undercooked' in Australia

India captain Rohit Sharma announced that senior fast bowler Mohammed Shami's comeback to the international cricket team could face more delays as he has faced another setback in his recovery. Shami, who had surgery on his right Achilles tendon earlier this year, has now experienced swelling in his knee, leading to a slight setback in his rehabilitation process, as per Rohit.

"Right now, it is pretty difficult for us to make a call on whether he will be fit for this series or the Australia series," Rohit said on the eve of India's first Test against New Zealand, in Bengaluru. "He recently had a setback - he had a swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual.

"He was in the process of getting fit - getting close to 100% - and he had a swelling in his knee. That put him back a little bit in his recovery, so he had to start again fresh."

Related

Shami not ready for New Zealand Tests; Bumrah named vice-captain

'If you play only one way, you don't grow' - Gambhir

Rain washes out India's training session on Bengaluru Test match eve

Shami's previous game for India came in the final of the World Cup last November. He was India's highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.70 and strike rate of 12.20 at the tournament. He played through pain during the World Cup, taking injections to treat his ankle.

Shami then underwent surgery in London earlier this year and would have been in contention for the five-match Australia series which starts next month, but the latest blow has set him back further. While Shami is at the NCA working with the physios as things stand, Rohit also said India didn't want to risk taking him to Australia when he isn't fully fit.

"Right now, he is at NCA - he is working with the physios, [and] the doctors at NCA," Rohit said. "We are keeping our fingers crossed. We want him to be fit; we want him to be 100%. More than anything else, we don't want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That is not going to be the right decision for us."

Having not played international cricket for nearly a year, Rohit also suggested that it would be tough for Shami to get right back into the thick of things.

"He has not played any cricket for over a year. It is quite tough for a fast bowler to have missed so much of cricket and then suddenly to come out and be at his best," Rohit said. "It is not ideal. We will want to give him enough time to recover, and be 100% fit.

"The physios, the trainers, [and] the doctors have set a roadmap for him. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series, and then take a call at what stage of Australia [series] he will be fit for us."

India have eight Tests left in the current WTC cycle. They play a three-match series against New Zealand after which they will travel to Australia for five Tests starting November 22.