BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar has provided a crucial update on Mohammad Shami's injury and revealed the goal is to have him fully fit for the Test series against Bangladesh. Shami is recovering from an ankle injury and has been out of competitive cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup. The premier paceman has recently started bowling in the nets and working hard in the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to regain full fitness. The 32-year-old played the ODI World Cup with the injury but still managed to finish the tournament as the highest wicket-taker with 24 scalps. He underwent surgery after the tournament, which forced him out of cricket for about 8 months now.

Agarkar addressed the media before Team India left for Sri Lanka for the white-ball tour, He talked about Shami and said that he still has no clarity about his timeline for recovery, but the goal is to have the pacer back for the first Test against Bangladesh.

"We more or less know who the guys are, there are some injuries at the moment and hope they will be back up. Shami has started to bowl, which is a good sign. September 19 is the first Test (against Bangladesh) and that was always the goal. I don't know if that is his timeline for recovery, will have to ask the guys at the NCA about that," Agarkar said in the press conference before the team left for Sri Lanka," Agarkar said in the press conference.

Agarkar admitted that while playing Tests in India, the team may not need three seamers, but going forward, they will be discussing the fast bowling lineup too.

The chief selector further suggested that they will keep a close eye on first-class matches to add more fast bowlers to strengthen their line-up.

"There are so many Tests coming. We will need some depth. Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj have been around for a while, these are the obvious ones. But there will be some conversation around it. Got a lot of first-class cricket coming up so we can build guys up like that," Agarkar added.

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