Mohammed Shami could be flown to Australia after taking 4 in 19 overs on Ranji comeback
New Delhi, Nov 14: The beleaguered Indian team could get the Mohammed Shami boost during the challenging Australia tour after the pace-bowling stalwart made an impressive comeback from injury by grabbing four wickets in a Ranji Trophy match on Thursday.
Playing his first red-ball game in more than a year, Shami, who represents Bengal, bowled four spells across 57 overs in Madhya Pradesh's first innings and returned with figures of 19-4-54-4.
His victims included MP skipper Shubham Sharma, all-rounder Saransh Jain and two tail-enders, with three of the four batters being bowled while one edged to keeper Wriddhiman Saha.
While this is great news for the Indian team, it is understood that the national selection committee will look at how his body holds up in the second innings as well and whether there is any swelling or pain at the end of the contest, being played at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
If he ticks all the boxes, it is almost assured that he will join forces with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah before the second Test, which will be a day/night affair.
The Ranji Trophy match ends on November 16 and he could join the squad before the first Test, beginning in Perth on November 22, but that could be cutting it too fine.
In case Shami goes, he will get to play a two-day day/night practice game against Prime Minister's XI.
More than the wickets he took on Thursday, the team management and national selection committee along with the BCCI's Sports Science & Medical Team want to check how his body holds up.
Shami, who has not played a competitive game after the ODI World Cup final on November 19 last year, had undergone an ankle surgery. Just when he was about to return for the three-Test series against New Zealand, the senior fast bowler developed a swelling in his knee delaying his comeback.
It is understood that despite naming an 18-member squad for Australia, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee and the team management would include Shami the moment the BCCI's head of Medical and Sports Science team, Dr Nitin Patel, declares him fit.
A Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) source told PTI that national selection committee member Ajay Ratra had specifically come along with NCA medical team head Patel to watch Shami bowl. Their feedback will be sent to chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir before a final call is taken.
A BCCI source said, "Obviously, Shami was asked to play this game keeping in mind that the next round of Ranji Trophy will only start on January 23 after the Test season is over.
"So, the selectors had only one match to check his fitness. He has bowled 19 overs in multiple spells and fielded for most part of the 57 overs. He bowled 90 dot balls. But he will again have to bowl and field (in the second innings). Suppose he bowls another 15 to 18 overs in the second innings, that's a very decent amount of overs bowled.
"But the biggest test would be whether he again feels any pain after four days. If the NCA medical team green-lights his fitness, obviously he will join before the second Test," the BCCI source added.
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New application filed in SC against Adani group over US indictment
New Delhi: A fresh application has been submitted to the Supreme Court of India, seeking the inclusion of key documents related to the recent US indictment of the Adani Group. Filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, the petition aims to introduce two critical pieces of evidence into an ongoing case related to the Adani Group's financial practices.
The first document is a formal US court indictment accusing Gautam Adani, his relative Sagar Adani, and other company executives of orchestrating a massive bribery scheme to secure solar energy contracts worth billions of dollars in India. The indictment alleges that over $250 million in bribes were paid to Indian government officials to obtain these lucrative contracts.
The second document is a complaint from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accuses the Adani Group of securities fraud. The SEC alleges that Adani executives misled investors to raise funds for these solar projects, despite knowing that part of the capital was linked to corrupt activities.
This development follows the US Attorney's Office's recent charges against the Adani executives, who are accused of masterminding a bribery scheme to secure power supply contracts with state-run utilities in India. The contracts were expected to yield up to $2 billion in profits over two decades.
These charges come amid an ongoing investigation by India's Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) into the Adani Group, after allegations of stock manipulation and market irregularities surfaced, particularly following the release of the Hindenburg Report in early 2023. The new US legal documents could play a crucial role in strengthening the investigation into the Adani Group's business operations.
