5 min readDec 11, 2024 08:02 AM IST
First published on: Dec 10, 2024 at 09:15 PM IST
Will Mohammed Shami fly to Australia or not? It is the lingering question that nobody seems to have an answer to. In Adelaide, India captain Rohit Sharma said the door was open for Shami’s return, without specifying when. But the more concerning takeaway was his revelation that the pacer has a swollen knee which is hampering his Test match preparations. And as the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy (SMAT) enters its business end in Bengaluru, all eyes are firmly on the Bengal star in a tournament that continues to reshape India’s T20 batting.
Having undergone a fresh fitness test and going by indications from the Bengal camp, it is certain that Shami isn’t taking a flight to Australia anytime soon. At least not on Wednesday, with the bowler set to feature in Bengal’s quarterfinal against Baroda at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the morning. Since making his return after a year-long injury hiatus, Shami featured in one Ranji Trophy fixture in mid-November and thereafter has played in each of Bengal’s seven matches so far in the SMAT, including the pre-quarterfinal against Chandigarh where he starred with both bat and ball.
But, the word around is that there are still concerns as to whether Shami can bowl lengthy spells in a Test match and he is being assessed on a day-to-day basis here by the Centre of Excellence staff.
In all this uncertainty, the one side which is definitely not complaining is the Bengal team as Shami’s presence will be vital when they lock horns with Baroda, bolstered by the presence of the Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal, among the favourites for the title.
Run-fests expected
In many ways, it is fitting that the SMAT knockout stages are taking place in Bengaluru, where batting-friendly decks should help continue the trend of big totals witnessed in the group stage continues.
Over the years, the conditions encountered by the players at the SMAT haven’t often been format-friendly. Despite being played at the start of the season, seaming decks and two-paced nature of the surfaces have hampered batsmen from showing the relevant aggression. But this season, there has been a huge shift in the manner in which teams have gone about their business so far. In the group stages at Rajkot, Indore, Mumbai, Vizag and Hyderabad, big totals were the norm as domestic batsmen continued to take the T20 revolution that has been undertaken by the national team. The tournament saw Urvil Patel score the fastest T20 century by an Indian as Baroda put up a world record total of 349/5.
With domestic T20 leagues sprouting across India, teams opted for specialists as the race for the knockouts stayed alive till the last round. The unforgiving nature of the format meant Andhra, despite having just one loss in the group stages and with the best net run rate among all teams, had to play the pre-quarters, where they lost to Uttar Pradesh.
Over the next three match days, with winter setting in the Garden city, the stars – Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan and Ayush Badoni – will provide the much-needed glamour to the SMAT.
Match-ups
At M Chinnaswamy Stadium
Baroda vs Bengal (11.30 am): It gets top billing with Mohammed Shami set to go face-to-face with the Pandya brothers in the morning fixture at the stadium known for big totals. Bengal would definitely start as the underdogs as Baroda look like the team to beat in the tournament.
Delhi vs Uttar Pradesh (4.30 PM): An evening fixture between two teams that have plenty of young guns. It is hard to pick a favourite between the two as Delhi, despite having a young team, ended up topping Group C, whereas Uttar Pradesh finished second. The latter will definitely benefit from the presence of Rinku Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
At Alur
Madhya Pradesh vs Saurashtra (9 AM): An early-morning start for a T20 fixture means the bowlers could end up making the headlines. Given the conditions, the toss could play a vital role as it becomes a strong bowl-first fixture. Having made the quarterfinals directly, both teams will feel hard done by.
Mumbai vs Vidarbha (1.30 PM): Needless to say, the star-studded Mumbai team will start as favourites. This is the one trophy that Mumbai hasn’t laid its hands on, and with the team at their disposal, this could be the year to end the drought. A warning shot against Vidarbha would wake up other teams
Going by indications from the Bengal camp, it is certain that Mohammed Shami isn’t taking a flight to Australia anytime soon. (PTI) 
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