Mohammed Shami's Inclusion a Boost for India in 2016 World Twenty20: Sunil Gavaskar

The Indian selectors sprang a couple of surprises when they announced the squad for the Asia Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 in New Delhi on Friday. Mohammed Shami, who had not played an international match for close to 11 months, was selected along with Pawan Negi, who might get a chance to feature in the Indian team for the series against Sri Lanka. (2016 ICC World Twenty20: Pawan Negi Earns Recall, Selectors Keep Faith in Mohammed Shami)

India, who are ranked number one in the world currently following their 3-0 clean sweep of Australia, have been boosted by Shami's inclusion. Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, speaking to NDTV, has pointed out that Shami is a welcome addition. (2016 World Twenty20: Pawan Negi, Mohammed Shami Included in Indian Squad)

"Balance of the team in Australia was terrific. Inclusion of Negi, Shami has strengthened the squad," Gavaskar said.

When asked about the risk that Shami carried considering that he had not played international cricket for close to a year, Gavaskar said, "It wil be a little bit of a concern. However, the best thing about this format is that he has to bowl only four overs. If he had to bowl in a 50-over game, the concerns would have been more. Shami will get a fair bit of bowling in the nets as well as in the Asia Cup. He is one of the few bowlers to possess a good yorker."

Gavaskar added Shami and left-arm spinner Pawan Negi's inclusion will strengthen the squad though he wanted a leg-spinner too.

"This is a good team, in my view a leg-spinner would have given more options but selectors have stuck with the same team. The balance of the team in Australia was terrific and that balance hasn't changed. In fact inclusion of Negi and Shami has strengthened the squad," he said.

One notable name missing from the squad was of Manish Pandey, who was named in the Sri Lanka series after a match winning effort in Australia.

"My honest advice to Manish Pandey would be to have more patience. He should do well in the Sri Lanka series (starting Feb 9) and make a case for permanent selection. And there will be some who will miss out. Players should keep trying. Youngsters should be consistent," he said.

Mohammed Shami has gotten the backing of the selectors despite not playing international cricket for close to one year.

© BCCI

Injury-Plagued 2015/16 For Shami

Shami has endured an injury plagued 2015/16 season. Following the end of the ICC World Cup semi-final against Australia in Sydney which India lost by 95 runs, Shami opted for knee surgery which forced him to miss the Indian Premier League and the subsequent tour to Bangladesh and series against Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Speaking to bcci.tv, Shami said it was the toughest period in his life. "I was completely bed-ridden. Even when I had to go to the bathroom, someone had to take me there because I couldn't put the foot on the ground. That was a very tough time for me. As a sportsperson it is very difficult to sit at one place. It is not easy to accept that your body is not capable of simple movements. This was my first major injury and that one month was the most difficult period of my career so far."

There was a ray of hope when Shami recovered from the injury and started bowling in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was selected for the tour to Australia where he played one warm-up game against Western Australia XI. However, he broke down with a hamstring injury and he was forced to fly back home

Selectors Express Confidence

Speaking in the press conference, chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said, "Shami is one of the best bowlers in the country. He has started bowling and has regained total fitness. We have 30 days until the World Twenty20 to see how he shapes up. We have the Asia Cup in the middle to see how he is going."

The confidence shown by the selectors is a boost for Shami as India look to tighten their bowling, which will make them a complete unit in the World Twenty20 that begins in March.

(With inputs from PTI)