“He’s all right. It’s an injury he’s had before, so he knows how to manage it really well,” Ten Doeschate told reporters on Friday. Hamstring injuries had forced Sharma to miss the start of India’s tour of Australia in 2020 and the entire tour of South Africa in 2021-22. India will play their final group stage game on Sunday against New Zealand, who have also qualified for the semis.
If the Friday’s practice session was an indication, then the left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh in all likelihood will replace Shami, who has recently returned to the national fold following a long injury lay-off. Arshdeep trained under the watchful eyes of bowling coach Morne Morkel, bowling 13 overs with full run-up while Shami only bowled 6-7 overs with a curtailed run-up. He was not bowling full steam.
During the game against Pakistan on February 23, Shami had received treatment in his right leg from the physios just after bowling his third over of the innings. The body language of the players during the training session on Friday suggested that India are likely to give Shami a much-needed break before the all-important semi-finals.
While KL Rahul in his interaction with the media was not very sure if India would alter the winning combination despite the temptation, assistant coach Ryan Doeschate, later in the evening, hinted that the bowling line-up could be changed a bit.
