Mohammed Shami’s return has been delayed as the Indian pacer missed out on a place in the playing XI against England in the 1st T20I at the Eden Gardens. Shami has been picked both in the T20I and ODI squad.

Shami hasn’t played a competitive match for India since the ODI World Cup final in 2023. He took part in domestic cricket for Bengal and has also been included in the ICC Champions Trophy squad.

Shami struggled for a prolonged period due to an ankle injury which also forced him to go under the knife. The 34-year-old was expected to feature on Wednesday against England but the Men In Blue opted for three spinners and one pacer.

The move further intensified speculation regarding Shami’s fitness. The England series will serve as a preparation for the upcoming ICC marquee event for the fast bowler and Piyush Chawla feels the sole focus should be on getting Shami match fit for the Champions Trophy.

He told the broadcaster, "If you see the run-up, he is still limping a bit. The main target should be Champions Trophy, and getting fit for that. Lots of matches in this series, even if he misses a few games, that is okay."

Former Indian batter Suresh Raina doubted where the move not to include Shami was purely from a tactical point of view.

"India have selected three spinners. Will they start with spin, that's why maybe he was not picked? It was a very important match for him, on his home ground too."

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

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

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.