In must-win Test, India add pace as Shami joins team
The Indian team, facing a must-win situation in the fourth Test against Australia, is looking to boost the pace attack. Mohammad Shami, who last played for India in November, 2016, has been called up for the Dharamsala Test.
The right-arm pacer has joined the team and tweeted a picture of the scenic new Test venue. The Indian team reached Dharamsala a day before the Australian team in order to get acclimatised. India already have Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in their ranks.
The Indian team management is keen to include Shami because Sunil Chauhan, the curator at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, has indicated the pitch will aid the pacers. “It will behave as it has always done. It will stay fast and bouncy. Our pitch is one of the most difficult for the batsmen (against fast bowlers) in the Ranji Trophy and its nature won’t be altered. Our preparation is the same and efforts are focussed at providing a track that a five-day game needs, with something in it for everyone,” Chauhan was quoted as saying.
Shami, who suffered a knee injury during the third Test against England, returned to competitive cricket on Monday when he bowled for Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final. He picked four wickets for 26 runs.
After the Indian bowlers failed to break Australia’s resistance in Ranchi on the final day, skipper Virat Kohli had hinted that Shami could be in the scheme of things for the fourth Test. “We sent him (Shami) to play, wanted to give him match practice,” Kohli said after the Ranchi Test. “I’ve not spoken to selectors but all kinds of possibilities are there approaching the next Test.”
Pune witnessed a ‘poor’ wicket despite the curator Pandurang Salgaoncar claiming that the “ball will fly”. Bengaluru’s wicket was rated ‘below average’ while the wicket in Ranchi was very slow.
It remains to be seen how far the claims made by HPCA Stadium curator turn out to be true.