Mohammed Shami to be axed for England tour: Reports

Indian star pacer Mohammed Shami is likely to be axed for the upcoming England tour, starting on June 20, as he might not be able to bowl longer spells. Notably, he missed out on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 season as well due to an injury.

Shami, who has been part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in the IPL 2025 season, failed to live up to the expectations. Interestingly, he was even omitted from the playing XI for a few games after conceding too many runs.

According to a report published in the Indian Express, the BCCI medical team has informed the Ajit Agarkar-led Indian selection committee that they aren't ready to bowl 10 overs in a day in a Test match. Eventually, it is up to Agarkar’s team whether to go ahead by taking a chance on Shami.

"Shami is bowling four overs in IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the board and selectors don't know whether he can bowl more than 10 overs in a day. Test matches in England may demand longer spells from the pacers, and we can't take chances," The Indian Express quoted a source as saying.

There are multiple options available for the Indian selectors to replace the speedster Shami in the Indian squad. While the left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is likely to earn his maiden Test call-up for the five-match Test series, Haryana pacer Anshul Kamboj is another candidate to replace Shami.

Notably, Kamboj, who scalped 74 wickets from 22 first-class games, is also part of the India A squad for the England tour. The BCCI selection committee is expected to unveil the squad on Saturday, May 24 with Shubman Gill emerging as the captaincy candidate after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format.

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