"He is not needed..." Mohammed Shami will also miss the third England T20I; the circumstances of his comeback match have finally been made public.

There is more to Mohammed Shami's departure from the England T20Is than meets the eye.

Mohammed Shami's exclusion from India's playing XI is currently the greatest enigma in Indian cricket, surpassing even the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli's form, and Rohit Sharma's future. Surprisingly, the India pacer missed both the second game in Chennai and the series opener in Kolkata, which raised questions about his future. Has he not recovered completely? Is he not a part of the bigger picture? Wrong. Shami is completely well and ready to play; there is another reason why he isn't.

The management of the Indian team is keeping Shami for the 50-overs because Bumrah's availability for the Champions Trophy is unknown. Although Shami's status in the Indian team is currently long-term, everyone concerned in the situation is truly impressed with him and the manner he has rehabilitated and worked hard to ultimately reach match fitness.

Therefore, it appears that employing Shami sparingly is this month's trend. In order to prevent Shami from losing his form or suffering the same fate as Bumrah, the Indian bowler is expected to play a very small, if any, part in the Twenty20 Internationals. However, you can anticipate Shami to come out firing once the ODIs begin.

"Compared to what he acquired prior to his injury, Shami has lost two kilograms. He's throwing his best effort. The T20 matches don't require him as much. However, he should be ready for the ODIs when they happen," the Times of India said.

Why excluding Shami from T20Is isn't such a horrible idea
It is reasonable to conclude that Shami will not play in the third Twenty20 International against Rajkot. Furthermore, it is vital that coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav refrain from making too many changes to the playing lineup given that India has won both of their games in Chennai and Kolkata.

Since the 2023 World Cup final, Shami has not participated in an international match for India. It has taken longer than anticipated for him to recover from his ankle injury and the necessary surgery. In actuality, Shami's early expectations of returning in time for India's home season were shattered, and then some. Shami did not participate in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and did not play throughout the home season. Given that he frequently represented Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, this was all the more unexpected.

The NCA, who had the last word on Shami, became the center of attention as fan annoyance increased. Shami's knee was reportedly swelled in between, although the BCCI didn't formally disclose anything about it. When Shami was ultimately included in India's team for the England T20Is, followed by the ODIs and the Champions Trophy, the wait appeared to be over. It only makes sense to have India's top bowler healthy and prepared to dominate in another prestigious ICC competition, since Shami was the 2023 World Cup's top wicket-taker and the 2019 second-highest.