Tanush Kotian Set To Join Team India In Australia, Shami Ruled Out

Tanush Kotian the off-spinner from Mumbai is set to join team India in Australia ahead of the 4th test in Melbourne. Kotian comes into the squad as the replacement of Ravichandran Ashwin who announced his retirement from International cricket after the end of the third test at the Gabba.

The 26-year-old Kotian, who is currently a part of the Mumbai team in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, is expected to join the squad in Melbourne ahead of the fourth Test. Kotian, who is currently in Ahmedabad, will fly back to Mumbai from where he will take a flight to Melbourne on Tuesday. Kotian recently went on 'A' tour of Australia the visa issues are unlikely.

Kotian has featured in 33 first-class games, scoring 1525 runs at an average of 41.21 and picking 101 wickets at an average of 25.70. Kotian was named the player of the tournament in Mumbai's Ranji title triumph in 2023-24. Kotian scored 502 runs in the season at an average of 41.83 & also picked up 29 wickets.

Update on Shami

Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami's much-awaited return to the national side is set to be delayed as the BCCI medical staff has declared unfit for selection for the last two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The BCCI stated in a media release that Shami has a minor swelling in his left knee after some heavy toil in bowling, the swelling is on the expected lines especially when Shami returned to the game after being away from it for an-year.

The 34-year-old's road to recovery started with Bengal's Ranji Trophy game against Madhya Pradesh in November. Shami bowled 43 overs in the game without apparent discomfort and then played all of Bengal's games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that followed. During the games the BCCI medical team was looking after Shami's body, in a bid to book the flight for Australia to participate in the last 2 tests of the border Gavaskar trophy. However with this swelling issue it is now set to rule out Shami for a possible return to international cricket in 2024.

Earlier, he was rested for the opening Vijay Hazare Trophy game for Bengal as a precaution and now, his participation in the tournament will depend completely on the progress of his rehab. The BCCI Medical Team have maintained that the pacer's workload will be monitored as he aims to make a comeback into International Cricket sooner rather than later.