The BCCI announced Mohammed Siraj as the replacement of Jasprit Bumrah, who suffered a stress fracture in his back, for the remainder of the ongoing series against South Africa. In doing so, a senior pacer, Mohammed Shami was overlooked, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday.

While many had expected Mohammed Shami to be the automatic pick to replace Jasprit Bumrah against South Africa, BCCI’s pick of Siraj came as a shock. However, it was only normal for the 32-year-old to be overlooked in favour of Siraj.

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Shami, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday, was originally part of India’s three-match T20I series against Australia. However, he was ruled out for the series after testing positive. Umesh Yadav was named the replacement of Shami against Australia, however, the BCCI recalled Jasprit Bumrah after a concerning bowling performance in the first T20I.

Now that Shami has tested negative and Bumrah has suffered a long-term injury, the procedure dictates that Shami has to prove his fitness at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, to be recalled to the Indian team. Since Shami tested negative on Thursday and India faces South Africa in the second T20I match on Sunday, it would be impossible for Shami to get the green signal from the NCA and travel to Guwahati to play in Sunday’s match.

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However, provided Shami gets an NCA’s approval, he could have been in contention to make India’s final T20I match against South Africa on October 4. However, the BCCI worked swiftly to announce Mohammed Siraj as Bumrah’s injury, ensuring India has a reliable pacer in a potential series decider on Sunday.

However, while this gives Siraj an edge to replace Jasprit Bumrah for India’s T20 World Cup squad next month, it poses a question about Shami’s inclusion in the tournament. Shami was announced as part of the reserves for the event, however, if he does not play against South Africa, he is unlikely to have match fitness and considering the fact that he has not played a T20I match since November 2021, the prospects do not look promising for him.