Ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 clash against Pakistan, Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant missed practice due to viral fever, with Shubman Gill confirming his absence. Pant had already missed the first match against Bangladesh, replaced by KL Rahul. In contrast, Mohammed Shami is set to play against Pakistan for the first time in ten years, having last faced them in 2015. Shami recently returned from injury, achieving a significant comeback with figures of 5/53 against Bangladesh and reaching 200 ODI wickets. His career has been marred by injuries, but he has consistently made strong recoveries in critical tournaments.
India faces Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025© AFP
Rishabh Pant, the wicket-keeper batter for the Indian cricket team, was absent from the practice session leading up to the highly anticipated Champions Trophy 2025 match against Pakistan. While Virat Kohli arrived about ‘2-3 hours’ prior to the session to practice against spinners in the nets, many other players were also there. Unfortunately, Pant missed the practice, and during the pre-match press conference, Shubman Gill shared that he is suffering from viral fever. Pant had already missed the opening match against Bangladesh, where KL Rahul was selected in his place, but he is expected to join the team if he is cleared to play.
On the other hand, Mohammed Shami is set to play an ODI against Pakistan for the first time in ten years. His last appearance against the arch-rivals in the 50-over format was back in 2015.
Shami has taken five wickets in three matches, with his best performance against Pakistan being 4/35, and he holds an average of 21.40.
His return from injury has been remarkable, as he made a strong comeback during an ICC event, securing figures of 5/53 against Bangladesh and reaching 200 wickets in ODIs.
This resurgence came after a thorough rehabilitation period, during which he worked diligently in domestic cricket across various formats for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
In his career, Shami has battled numerous injuries but has repeatedly made impressive returns. At the 2015 World Cup, he played despite relying on painkiller injections and ended up being the fourth-highest wicket-taker, capturing 17 wickets in seven matches.
However, injuries kept him out of the 2017 Champions Trophy, and between the 2015 World Cup and early 2019, he managed to participate in only five ODIs.
(With ANI inputs)
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