Pace bowler Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of India’s ongoing tour of Australia due to a hamstring injury and he could be out of action for up to six weeks, the BCCI announced on Saturday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has replaced diminutive Shami, said the BCCI on Saturday.
Shami was making a comeback to the Indian team after a long injury-induced layoff. The ongoing Australian tour was his first competitive series after almost nine months, since end the of the World Cup.
“The BCCI medical team confirms that Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of India’s tour of Australia due to injury,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.
“He sustained a Grade II injury to his left hamstring, which will restrict him from playing active cricket for about four to six weeks,” he said. “The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the replacement, who will join the team tomorrow.”
Shami apparently hurt himself ahead of the warm-up game and was unable to bowl. The Amroha-born Bengal pacer suffered an injury during the team’s training.
Shami played the latter half of the World Cup, but aggravated his knee injury. He underwent a knee surgery and was side-lined for more than eight months. He returned to the field during last month’s Vijay Hazare Trophy in India.
