Mohammed Shami looked to have attained close to full fitness as he bowled with full intensity during India’s first training session at the Gabba on Sunday, ahead of their first warm-up fixture against Australia on Monday (October 17). Shami, who had reached Brisbane after recovering from COVID-19 and getting a go-ahead, had replaced an injured Jasprit Bumrah in the squad of 15.
On Sunday, Shami had a full-fledged session with coach Rahul Dravid welcoming him in the mix after a lay-off of around three months. As far as the first session went, Shami looked to be building on his rhythm as he bowled for quite some time to team’s best batter Virat Kohli. It seemed that he is still trying to hit the straps and perhaps the upcoming warm-up games against Australia and New Zealand would provide an idea about his match fitness.
What better way to get #ReadyforT20WC than locking horns with the defending champions? _#BelieveinBlue & watch Team __ in action in the #AUSvIND warm-up match! pic.twitter.com/GtcBlTWUmB
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 16, 2022
There is no hiding that a 80 per cent fit Shami with his skill-sets will be more effective than a completely out of sorts Harshal Patel, who was taken to cleaners by Dinesh Karthik during the net session on Sunday. Karthik would disdainfully smash Harshal’s length deliveries in the imaginary deep mid-wicket region and the low full-tosses through the square leg.
However, while trying to play the lap scoop off Shami, Karthik was bowled leg stump and the Bengal speedster had a wry smile. But will Dravid and Rohit play Shami against England or allow him to have two more net sessions before checking him on Wednesday against New Zealand is the big question.
The two warm-up games, which will be aired live in the Indian sub-continent, will also provide everyone with a clear picture about what kind of playing XI will be fielded on October 23 against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Both Rishabh Pant and Karthik had a good hit at the nets but who will be featuring in the playing XI will possibly be clear while looking at the batting order of the two practice games. Stand by pacers Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have also reached Brisbane.
Match Details
The Australia vs India T20 World Cup 2022 warm up match will be played on Monday, October 17.
The Australia vs India T20 World Cup 2022 warm up match will be played at the Manuka Oval in Gabba, Brisbane.
The Australia vs India T20 World Cup 2022 warm up match will begin at 930 AM IST. The toss will take place at 9AM IST.
The Australia vs India T20 World Cup 2022 warm up match will be broadcast on Star Sports Network in India.
The Australia vs India T20 World Cup 2022 warm up match will be available on Disney+ Hotstar website and app.
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Ashwin, Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel