Mohammed Shami is unlikely to fly to Australia anytime soon. Indications are that he has not yet received fitness clearance, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is still undecided when he can be sent to Australia. Precisely, the exact dilemma is whether rather than when.

It is evident that Shami’s fitness is under scrutiny. The Sports Science wing of the BCCI’s Bengaluru-based Centre of Excellence is yet to submit an all-clear report to the BCCI. As reported by Cricbuzz on December 1, a team from the NCA went to Rajkot where he was playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) to monitor his progress. Among those on the Shami duty were a national selector (SS Das), the head of BCCI’s Sports Science wing (Nitin Patel) and a Strength and Conditioning trainer (Nishanta Bardule).

Shami represented Bengal in the National T20 competition, finishing with an impressive tally of eight wickets in seven games. More crucially, the 34-year-old pacer, returning after a year-long injury hiatus, is said to have made a strong impression with his bowling performances. But more than his bowling, the assessment was whether he would be able to withstand the gruelling workload of a Test match.

Sources reveal that Shami is unlikely to fly to Australia immediately, despite his absence being felt in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series. The veteran pacer might be there for the final Test in Sydney, with the best-case scenario being his availability for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, starting on December 26. However, sources caution that this is an overly optimistic expectation, and it would not be surprising if he is not sent to Australia at all.

Bengal have reached the knockout stage of the SMAT and they are up against Chandigarh in the pre-quarterfinals which will be played at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on November 9. Shami continues to be with the Bengal team and he is expected to feature in the knockouts of the SMAT.

Shami was recently bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 10 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Should he regain full fitness, he will take part in the IPL after one year – he had missed the whole 2024 IPL season because of an ankle injury for which he had to undergo surgery.