Mohammed Shami's post after missing squad for Australia: Sorry to all fans and BCCI
New Delhi, Oct 27: India pacer Mohammed Shami has apologised to the fans and the BCCI after the board decided against rushing his return to the team for the high-profile tour of Australia as he is yet to attain match fitness.
Having underwent surgery, the seamer completed his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) but his return was derailed by swelling in his knees, even though Shami recently declared that he is pain free.
The 34-year-old Shami posted a video of his training on Instagram and said he would be back soon.
"Putting in my efforts and getting better with my bowling fitness day-by-day. Will continue working hard towards getting ready for the match and to play domestic red ball cricket. Sorry to all cricket fans and bcci too, but very soon I'm ready to play red ball cricket , love you all," Shami wrote.
Shami, whose return to competitive cricket following a long lay-off due to injury has been one of the talking points in the run-up to the tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, is expected to play in Bengal's next Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka in the first week of November.
While he was not considered for the five-match Test series Down Under, his comments came after India lost the Test rubber against New Zealand, their first series loss at home in 12 years.
In Shami's absence, the Indian pace attack will comprise Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Akash Deep and youngsters like Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana.
Fast bowlers Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Khaleel Ahmed will be travelling as reserves for the series.
Shami last played in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia and has since been sidelined due to an ankle injury for which he underwent surgery earlier this year.
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Allahabad HC orders FIR against Rahul Gandhi in dual citizenship case
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered an FIR be filed against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in connection with an alleged dual citizenship controversy.
The bench permitted the state government to hand over the probe to any central probe agency after registration of the FIR.
The order was passed by a bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi on a petition filed by S Vignesh Shishir, who had challenged a January 28 order of a special MP/MLA court rejecting his plea for an FIR against Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The special court had earlier held that it was not competent to adjudicate on issues related to citizenship.
The petitioner, a BJP worker from Karnataka, had sought registration of an FIR and a detailed probe into the matter, levelling allegations against Gandhi under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Official Secrets Act, the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act.
The complaint was initially filed before the special MP/MLA court in Rae Bareli. However, on the petitioner's request, the high court transferred the case to Lucknow on December 17, 2025.
The MP/MLA court in Lucknow subsequently dismissed the plea on January 28, 2026, prompting the petitioner to approach the high court, which has now ordered registration of an FIR.
In its order, the bench said that from a bare perusal of the allegations, prima facie cognizable offences were made out against Gandhi and hence the allegations required to be investigated.
The bench said that the special court should have looked into whether the allegations prima facie made out any cognizable offences or not, but it failed to consider it.
Earlier, Deputy Solicitor General of India SB Pandey produced the central government's records in the court relating to the citizenship controversy surrounding Gandhi.
Government counsel VK Singh also consented on behalf of the UP government that the allegations prima facie made out cognizable offences.
After having a detailed hearing, the bench found that the material on records showed that Gandhi had committed "cognizable offences" in having dual citizenship, and these allegations required to be probed.
The petitioner has alleged that Rahul is a UK Citizen and incorporated a company named M/S Backops Ltd in August 2003.
It was further submitted that Gandhi categorically admitted and voluntarily declared his nationality as British, having a Director Identification ID and London and Hampshire addresses.
In his petition, Shishir claimed that Rahul submitted the company's annual returns in October 2005 and October 2006, listing his nationality as British.
Thereafter, the company was dissolved through a dissolution application in February 2009.
According to the petitioner, the material placed before the court includes records suggesting that Rahul Gandhi may have been listed as a voter in the United Kingdom and participated in electoral processes there.
During the course of the hearing, the high court earlier directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to place all relevant records, including classified documents, before the court.
