Mumbai, India

India pacer Mohammed Shami has been ruled out from a return in the last two Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series Tests against Australia. The development was shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday (Dec 23), three days prior to the fourth BGT Test which starts on December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

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The news comes as a setback to India which are struggling in pace department as no pacer barring Jasprit Bumrah has been able to contain the Aussies - especially Travis Head.

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Shami returned to the competitive cricket in November earlier this year in a domestic Ranji Trophy match for his state Bengal. Shami had gotten injured during the ICC ODI World Cup Final 2023 on November 19.

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After playing the lone Ranji match, Shami also played nine games in domestic T20 tournament Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) as well. 

While Shami has completely recovered from this heel problem suffered in ODI WC Final 2023, his right knee is creating a bit of a problem.

"His left knee has exhibited minor swelling due to increased joint loading from his bowling workload. The swelling is on the expected lines, owing to the increased bowling after a prolonged period," read the BCCI statement.

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"Based on the current medical assessment, the BCCI Medical Team has determined that his knee requires more time for controlled exposure to bowling loads. Consequently, he has not been deemed fit for consideration for the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy," it further read.

It has been a miserable situation for Indian bowlers apart from Bumrah, who has taken series-leading 18 wickets so far. All the other Indian bowlers used in the series so far have 22 wickets collectively, with Mohammed Siraj taking 11 of them.

With no Mohammed Shami available, Bumrah has been waging the lone battle against Australia with two five-for and one four-for and an economy rate of 2.57 with a strike rate of 27.33.

The five-match series, however, stands equal at 1-1 with two matches still left.