WATCH: Mohammed Shami bowls at full tilt in Bengaluru, remains in contention for Australia tour

India’s pace bowler Mohammed Shami could be on the plane to Australia for the upcoming Test series after he was spotted flexing his muscle at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday (Oct 20). After India’s defeat to New Zealand by eight wickets, Shami and Shubman Gill were spotted in the aftermatch training session. While Gill is likely to return to the Playing XI in the Pune Test, it has been 11 months since Shami last tasted international cricket action.

Shami back for the BGT?

Having not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final defeat to Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19, Shami has been out of action for the national side. But with cameras still rolling after the match at the Chinnaswamy on Sunday, a heavily strapped Shami took to the nets and bowled which came as a big encouraging sign for the Indian team. He bowled for several minutes in the net before calling it a day and largely looked untroubled.

Despite the encouraging signs, he was not included in the Indian squad for the Pune and Mumbai Test matches after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed squads for the remainder of the New Zealand series.

India lose Bengaluru Test

Needing 107 runs to win the Bengaluru Test on Day 5, New Zealand batters made an easy meal of the Indian bowlers as they won the Test match. For India Rishabh Pant scored 99 and gave a good helping hand to Sarfaraz Khan, who scored 150. These innings combined with Rohit’s 52 and Virat’s 71 helped India reach 462 as they overcame a massive deficit of 356 runs from the first innings.

However, the second innings heroics did not prove enough for India, having been bowled out for 46 in the first innings, as they lost by eight wickets. All eyes will now be on the second Test match, which starts on Thursday (Oct 24).