Star player and senior pacer Mohammed Shami will not be playing in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) which is scheduled to begin on March 22. The decision comes following Shami's left ankle injury for which the Indian cricketer will undergo surgery in the UK, a BCCI source informed on Thursday.
"Shami was in London in the last week of January to take special ankle injections and he was told that after three weeks, he can start light running and take it from thereon. But the injection hasn't worked and now the only option left is surgery. He will shortly leave for the UK for surgery. IPL seems out of the question," a senior BCCI source said speaking on anonymity.
Shami is also absent from the current Test series going against England, last played for India in the ODI World Cup final against Australia in November.
The 33-year-old was one of the architects of India's stupendous World Cup campaign with 24 wickets, played through pain as he had problems with his landing but didn't let it affect his performance.
Shami, who was recently conferred with the Arjuna Award, has 229 Test, 195 ODI, and 24 T20 wickets in his decade-long career.
The development raises a question mark about the injury rehabilitation management programme planned by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for Shami.
Now it is highly unlikely that the pace bowling artist would be able to make a comeback before India's Test matches at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand (October November).
His target could be the marquee away series against Australia.
People in the know of things believe that the NCA's conservative line of thinking has not worked in Shami's case.
"Shami should have gone directly for surgery and that should have been NCA's call. Just two months of rest and injections wouldn't have worked well and that's what has happened. He is an asset and the Indian team would need him in Australia," the source said.
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