India captain Rohit Sharma virtually ruled out Mohammed Shami from the upcoming Test tour of Australia, saying that the pacer's recovery from an ankle surgery has been hampered by swelling in his knees and it would not be right to take an "undercooked" version of him for the marquee showdown.
Shami last played for India during the final of the ODI World Cup last year and has been recuperating from an ankle surgery after that.
"To be honest, right now, it's pretty difficult for us to make a call on him, whether he'll be fit for this series or Australia series. He recently had swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual, Rohit told reporters here on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand.
"He was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100 per cent, he had swelling in his knee, that put him back a little bit in his recovery. So, he had to start again. Right now, he's at NCA, he's working with the physios and the doctors at NCA," he added.
Rohit said the team management wants Shami to regain full fitness before returning to top-flight cricket.
"We are keeping our fingers crossed, he should be 100 percent fit. We don't want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia, that is not going to be the right decision for us.
"It is quite tough for a fast bowler, having missed so much of cricket, and then suddenly to come out and be at his best, it is not ideal," he noted.
Rohit said that the staff at the National Cricket Academy would still keep a watch on Shami's fitness, and he may even play some internal matches as part of that.
"We want to give him enough time to recover and be 100 per cent fit,"
said Rohit. "The physios, the trainers, the doctors have set a roadmap for him."
"He is supposed to play a couple of (practice) games before he plays international cricket," he added.
Read also| BCCI Scraps Impact Player Rule for Domestic T20 Tournament, Retains It for IPL
Read also| Green Ruled Out of India Test Series, Set to Undergo Back Surgery
