New Delhi [India], May 23 (ANI): India's seasoned seamer Mohammed Shami is unlikely to board the plane to England for the upcoming five high-stakes Tests, scheduled to begin on June 20 at Headingley, according to ESPNcricinfo.

Shami, who is fit to bowl for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL), hasn't necessarily built up the required workload for the high demands of Test cricket, according to ESPNcricinfo. His last appearance for India in the red-ball setup dates back to the World Test Championship final against Australia in 2023.

According to ESPNcricinfo, a member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical staff travelled to Lucknow this week to assess Shami's fitness level before Hyderabad's fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.

It hasn't been confirmed if the selectors have made up their minds about giving up on Shami for the series. However, it is highly likely that they will play safe and drop Shami unless a favourable report comes from the medical staff.

The 34-year-old stayed away from the on-field action for over a year due to an ankle injury. Shami recovered successfully from the ankle surgery in February 2024 but started suffering pain in his right knee, for which he has been seeking treatment.

Last year returned to the domestic circuit and featured in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal. With his experience, Shami enjoyed a fruitful outing and returned with seven scalps against Madhya Pradesh last year. Rumour mill suggested his return during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia; however, the series went by, and there were no signs of him.

The 34-year-old was assigned to bowl with the new ball for India across formats in 2025. He represented the nation in the title-winning Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year and ended the campaign as the joint second-highest wicket-taker.

Shami has represented India in 64 Tests and scalped 229 wickets at an average of 27.1, boasting six five-wicket hauls. Even for Hyderabad in IPL 2025, Shami has six wickets at an average of 56.16 and an economy rate of 11.23 in 13 group-stage fixtures. If the selectors opt to go against picking Shami, there are other prospects that they can look up to.

Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed and Harshit Rana are to name a few who can tour England for the highly anticipated series. (ANI)