Shami injured again? Arshdeep Singh likely to partner Harshit Rana in India vs New Zealand match

Mohammed Shami had received treatment during the India vs. Pakistan match and didn't bowl his full quota of overs.

Mohammed Shami is likely to be rested for the India vs. New Zealand match. The India cricket team practiced on Friday (February 28), and while Shami was there, he only bowled 7 or 8, and that too not at full tilt or intensity. He knows Shami has had knee issues, and he went off the field in the India vs. Pakistan match with the same problem.

Apart from the knee, it looked like Shami had some issues with his shin as well. He returned and bowled five more overs but looked nowhere near his best. He was the only bowler who failed to take a wicket against Pakistan and was a touch expensive as well.

Arshdeep Singh to replace Shami

According to PTI, Arshdeep Singh has a chance to replace Shami in the India vs. New Zealand. Unlike the veteran pacer, the left-arm fast bowler toiled hard in the nets of the ICC Academy. He threw down 13 overs under the supervision of assistant coach Morne Morkel.

Replacing Arshdeep with Shami also makes sense. Given it’s the final group stage match of the ICC Champions Trophy, it’d be better to test the bench strength now. Getting a player directly into the semifinal against either Australia or South Africa doesn’t make sense.

Also, this way Shami would also get time to recover completely. Whatever niggle he may have might be dealt with by then. Arshdeep hasn’t played in Dubai yet, and the game time he’ll get will be extremely useful if Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir require his services later.

India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy