Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has opined on Mohammed Shami potentially missing the second T20I against England. He added that the veteran seamer hasn’t played international cricket for over a year and would need game time to be ready for the 2025 Champions Trophy as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “Where is Mohammed Shami? That is a big, big, big question. As per the reports I have read, he won’t play here also. He didn’t play the first match and might not play the second match. You are racing against time now because (Jasprit) Bumrah might play the last ODI and if these two T20Is pass for Mohammed Shami, only three games and the three ODIs will be left.”

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“There is still some time but time is also running out. It is a slight dichotomy that time is there and not there also. It’s there because six games are left if he doesn’t play this one but it’s not there because he hasn’t played international cricket for 14-15 months. It takes time for a vehicle to get warmed up. It’s not a petrol engine, it’s a diesel engine. He is aged and is a fast bowler,” Chopra further added.

In the same video, Aakash Chopra also stated that the selectors and team management were right in not including Mohammed Shami in India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 squad as well.

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“If you rewind the tape, a lot of questions were being asked when he wasn’t going for the BGT, as to why he wasn’t being played. Rohit (Sharma) wasn’t able to answer them. He said the NCA (National Cricket Academy) should be asked about it, that they haven’t got the fitness report, he is getting swelling, and all of that. It’s been one-and-a-half months since then. The selectors and team management were right because the guy is not ready at all. He is not ready even after playing in the Ranji Trophy, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. If he is still not ready, how would he have been ready then?” Aakash Chopra concluded.