"Surya missed a trick" - Aakash Chopra on Suryakumar Yadav's utilization of Mohammed Shami in IND vs ENG 2025 3rd T20I

Former India player Aakash Chopra has expressed happiness about Mohammed Shami's return to international cricket in the third T20I against England on Tuesday, January 28. However, he questioned whether the veteran seamer was properly utilized by captain Suryakumar Yadav.

Shami registered figures of 0/25 in three overs as England set India a 172-run target in Rajkot. The visitors then restricted the Men in Blue to 145/9 to register a 26-run win and reduce the deficit to 1-2 in the five-match series.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener expressed mixed feelings about Shami's return and opined that Suryakumar should have bowled him his full quota of four overs.

"Shami is back. All of us saw Shami bowl but is he really back? That is the bigger question. You feel happy when Shami comes to bowl on the ground, but that is not the be-all and end-all. You need the Mohammed Shami who left 436 days ago, because even if it's one notch lower than that, it won't work out," he said (1:15).

"The captain didn't give him the fourth over only. He gave him only one over at the death. He had the option to give two. He could have done that because eight or nine wickets had already fallen. This was the time when you say there wasn't any pressure at the death. I feel Surya missed a trick there. He should have been bowled four overs," Chopra added.

Mohammed Shami conceded 15 runs in his two-over spell with the new ball. He returned to bowl the 19th over, giving away 10 runs, including delivering a beamer that was called a no-ball.

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"It looked like he was slightly rusty" - Aakash Chopra on Mohammed Shami's first over in IND vs ENG 2025 3rd T20I

Mohammed Shami conceded six runs in his first over. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Mohammed Shami seemed 'slightly rusty' in his first over during the third T20I between India and England.

"The seam was slightly tilted in the first over. It shows that the zero-seam Shami wasn't fully there in the first over. Then he got huge swing as well. There was a difference of almost 8-10 kph between 19 Nov 2023 and 28 Jan 2025. So it looked like he was slightly rusty," he said.

While acknowledging that the Bengal seamer's seam position was better in his second over, the analyst added that he was still short on pace.

"The parts will have to be made ready, then the vehicle will get warmed up and run fast. He wasn't running very fast in the first over and it looked like it might take some time. Then he bowled his second over. The seam became slightly better. The pace was still the same," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra claimed that the jury was still out as Mohammed Shami wasn't close to his peak. He added that a clear difference was evident between the Indian seamer and the England pacers.