After the 2-match Test series against the West Indies, Team India will travel to Australia for an 8-match white ball series (IND vs AUS). The series, starting from October 19, will feature 3 One Day International matches and 5 T20Is. In both of the formats, BCCI selectors again ignored experienced pacer Mohammed Shami. Did they make a mistake by not including the experienced pacer in the squad, at least for the ODI series?

Former India international Mohammed Kaif clearly stated that Team India should include Shami in the squad for the high-octane competition. During a recent conversation on YouTube, Kaif said that in white-ball cricket, Shami has the capability to pick up wickets against heavyweight opponents. Kaif confidently picked up Shami as the second-best limited-over Indian pacer after Jasprit Bumrah.

The former cricketer opined that if Bumrah was unable to play, then Shami could be an automatic choice in the playing combination. He could create a pair with Arshdeep Singh or any other pacer, and that could prove effective for Team India against Australia. 

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What Kaif says about Shami?

During the conversation, Kaif made some surprising comments as well. He said that Travis Head and the Australia team will be very happy, as they will not have to face Bumrah or Shami. 

"Shami should be in the team. Give him the new ball, and he will take a wicket for the team. When Bumrah is struggling, then Shami should be in the team. Shami's presence on the field could put extra mental pressure on the opponent team psychologically as well. Travis Head will be very happy not to face both Bumrah and Shami," Kaif said. 

India’s ODI squad for the Australia tour: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), and Yashasvi Jaiswal.