Former England pacer Darren Gough has advised India to rest Mohammad Shami in their upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 clash against New Zealand scheduled on March 2 in Dubai.
As Shami has come back into the team after a long hiatus, Gough wants India to go easy on the fast-bowler and give him a one-match break before the all-important semi-final.
Shami started the campaign brilliantly with a fifer against Bangladesh. However, he looked out of touch versus Pakistan, going wicketless in his eight-over spell. He also walked out of the field due to ankle pain.
Notably, India have already booked their berth in the semis of the tournament. The Men in Blue have earned two back-to-back victories in the group stage against the likes of Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.
‘I Would Expect India to Rest Him’ - Gough on India’s Possible Strategy vs New Zealand
The ex-England cricketer believes that the pitch in Dubai is not as flat as Lahore and therefore reckoned that India can include an extra spinner in their playing XI in place of Shami.
"They probably should rest him. They've got the confidence against Pakistan. When you've got a batting lineup like that, you can afford to bring someone else in; bring another spinner in Dubai," Gough said as quoted to Hindustan Times.
"The pitch is not as flat as in Lahore, so you can bring another spinner. We saw Hardik Pandya bowling brilliantly, so I would expect India to rest him," he added.
The 54-year-old also went on to pick his favourites to win the tournament. While he praised New Zealand and South Africa for their strengths, he predicted that India will lift the trophy, even without their key speedster Jasprit Bumrah.
"India look very strong, I'm not going to lie. They looked very strong in the ODIs against England and started off with two terrific performances (in Champions Trophy). South Africa and New Zealand look pretty strong and solid. (New Zealand) are without Boult and Southee, and Lockie Ferguson as well, so when you got those three out, I thought we couldn't be too sure about New Zealand, but they have started pretty well," said Gough.
"India and New Zealand have qualified. South Africa, I think, would definitely go. I tipped Afghanistan, and they've got to win now. I think they've got an upset in them. If I were to say who is going to win it, I will say India. They look pretty solid. If you look at their batting, you don't see a weakness. Jasprit Bumrah, the best bowler in the world, is not playing for India. And they still look too strong for everybody else," he added.
Mohammad Shami’s Return in India Jersey
For the unversed, Shami hurt his ankle in the ODI World Cup 2023. Despite suffering from an ankle injury, he was the highest wicket-taker in the competition.
He operated on his ankle after the tournament and only made his comeback in the India colours recently in the white-ball matches against England.
