As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series, with Australia hammering India 3-1 to eventually reclaim the trophy after a decade’s wait, cricket experts from either side lamented the absence of star quick Mohammed Shami from the crucial tour with Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting pointing out that the pacer’s presence might have made a difference.

Shami’s prolonged absence from the Indian set-up due to injury concerns has not only adversely impacted the team’s progress in red-ball cricket in recent months, but his absence in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy meant India lacked the experience in the bowling attack, that was heavily reliant on the pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

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Both Shastri and Ponting have queried the decision not to fly Shami over for the series, in the hope the fast bowler could have boosted the tourists’ chances Down Under. Shami, who has been out of international cricket ever since the 2023 Cricket World Cup final against Australia, due to an ankle surgery in early 2024, made a return to competitive cricket in the domestic circuit before the Test series began, leading to hopes of contribution at some stage in Australia.

The 34-year-old seamer featured in a solitary Ranji Trophy match for his state team — Bengal against Madhya Pradesh, besides featuring in a handful of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 matches. During the period, there were speculations of his possible return to international cricket, with the Indian team struggling against Australia.

However, he was officially ruled out of contention before the fourth Test in Melbourne with the BCCI medical team citing subsequent knee swelling, though both Ponting and Shastri felt a trip to Australia and a return late in series could have been pushed.

Shastri tore into the BCCI and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for the way Shami’s injury was managed. Even skipper Rohit Sharma was frustrated by the lack of updates about the star pacer’s availability for the tour.

“About Shami, I think it’s high time somebody from NCA talks about him, where he is rehabbing,” Rohit said a few days before Shami was officially ruled out of the last two matches.

Former India coach Shastri felt that the pacer could have been a huge help in Australia. He shared Rohit’s view that he was left “surprised” by the lack of communication surrounding Shami’s recovery.

“To be honest, I was very surprised with the communication going on in the media as to what exactly happened to Mohammed Shami. Where is he when it comes to recovery?,” Shastri said on The ICC Review.

“He’s been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long. Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia,” he added.

Shastri added that he would have got Shami to Australia with the rest of the team, allowing him to rehab under the experts.

“I would have kept him part of the team and made sure that his rehabilitation was done with the team. And then if we thought by the third Test match that no, this guy can’t play the rest of the series, I would let him go.

“But I would have brought him with the team, kept him, monitored him with the best of the physios and best of the advice even from international physios who are in Australia and seeing how he went. But I would have kept him in the mix,” Shastri said.

‘Shami could have been the difference’

Echoing Shastri’s sentiments, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said Shami could have been the difference in the series, given his track record on Australian soil.

“I was really surprised when he wasn’t flown out even halfway through the series, two Test matches in. India’s make-up obviously had Nitish Reddy there. So you had another seam bowling all-rounder anyway.

“So if Shami, even if he wasn’t fully fit, if he had to bowl fewer overs in a day, you had a backup seam bowling option to help him out and I think he could have been the difference,” Ponting said.

“If Shami, Bumrah and Siraj were in their starting team, I think things could have been completely different here in Australia,” Ponting reckoned.

Shastri added that Shami’s absence resulted in a lesser experienced pace attack for India while Jasprit Bumrah was not supported well.

“It got so tight at 1-1 going into Melbourne. You just needed that experience and support. For all you know, he might have raised the bar as well. And it would have been the two guys there (Bumrah and Shami).

“Pat Cummins couldn’t have done it on his own; Scotty Boland had to step in. So you needed a bowler of his experience. You know, as hard as Mohammed Siraj tried, you needed Shami’s experience there,” said Shastri.