Mohammed Shami and Rohit Sharma engage in tense confrontation over India captain's 'swollen knee' comment: 'Confrontation arises during...'

During the post-match press conference following India's 10-wicket loss to Australia, captain Rohit Sharma provided an update on Mohammed Shami, stating that the 'door is very much open' for Shami to return to the team. Sharma explained that Shami had experienced swelling in his knee while playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, which was affecting his preparation for the Test match. The team is closely monitoring Shami's condition and being cautious to ensure he is fully fit before bringing him back into the squad, as they do not want to risk him pulling up sore or aggravating his injury further.

"We want to be more than 100 per cent sure with him because it has been a long time. We don't want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. There are some professionals monitoring, we will take a call based on what those guys feel. They are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. But the door is open for him to come and play anytime."

However, as things stand, a report in the Dainik Jagran states that not all is well between Rohit and Shami. This dates back to last month, when India were in the middle of a Test series against New Zealand. Ahead of the opener in Bengaluru, Rohit revealed that, unlike the belief that Shami is fully fit, there's swelling in his knee. Before this, Shami had retaliated to media reports that he had picked up a new injury, calling it fake and reiterating that he was fit and raring to go. This was just the tip of the iceberg, though. The report claims Rohit and Shami met after New Zealand beat India in the first Test, but had a conversation that was anything but smooth.

"When Shami was at NCA, he met Rohit during the 1st Test in Bengaluru. During their meeting, the two had a heated exchange over the captain's remark on Shami when asked about his current status and availability for the New Zealand and Australia Test series," Jagran quoted a source as saying.

Rohit had said this on the eve of the 1st Test in Bengaluru: "Right now, it is pretty difficult for us to make a call on whether he will be fit for this series or the Australia series.

"He recently had a setback - he had a swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual. He was in the process of getting fit - getting close to 100% - and he had a swelling in his knee. That put him back a little bit in his recovery, so he had to start again fresh."

The question is clear: Does Rohit not want Shami in India's Test set-up? Why else is there still no clarity over his joining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy? His Border-Gavaskar Trophy kit and Australia visa are ready, but Shami continues to wait, despite regularly turning up for Bengal in the SMAT. The BCCI has yet to give him a go-ahead, waiting for one final clearance from the NCA.

Even if he joins, Shami is all but ruled out of the Brisbane Test. However, given the week-long gap between the Gabba and Melbourne, the Boxing Day Test is when Shami has a realistic chance of playing his first game for India in over a year.