Kolkata: Md Shami will be in the Indian playing XI tomorrow in the World T20 warm up match against West Indies at the Eden Gardens. The speedster cleared concern about his fitness, and was seen bowling in full flow today during the practice session of the Indian team. He was seen bowling with good rhythm and pace during his spell which spanned little more than half an hour. He was seen bowling to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh. The left hander had some problems negotiating with his pace and movement.
Indian team director Ravi Shastri also made it clear that Shami will figure in the playing XI during the two warm-up games against West Indies and South Africa in Mumbai on March 10 and March 12 respectively in order to assess his fitness. “He”s in the side and obviously he will play,” Shastri told reporters today as the pacer was seen having a long discussion with bowling Coach Bharat Arun.
Shami has been struggling with his troubled knee, which forced him out of the Indian team. A surgery to his knee kept him out of the Indian team for more than six months.To make matters worse he had to return back from Australia due to a hamstring injury.But keeping in mind his ability, Shami was kept in the World Twenty20 squad with Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the standby and a final call will be taken ahead of their WT20 opener against New Zealand on March 15.