Mohammed Shami is battling fitness problems, and this latest blow is likely to further delay his return to competitive cricket. India Test captain Rohit Sharma gave an update on Shami's condition, saying the bowler has swelling in his knees, making him doubtful for the tour to Australia. Rohit said: “To be honest, it is difficult to make a call on him for Australia series. He had a setback and had swelling in his knees. That put him back a little bit and had to start again. He’s at the NCA with doctors and physios. We don’t want to bring undercooked Shami to Australia. We are keeping our fingers crossed.” He had last played in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. He played throughout the tournament with an injured ankle, and he needed injections to deal with the pain, only to have surgery after the end of the tournament. Since then, he missed out on several important events, which included the South Africa tour, the home Test series against England, IPL 2024, and T20 World Cup 2024. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar had wished for Shami to return for the Bangladesh Test series last month, but the 34-year-old wasn't fit enough. He will also miss the three-match Test series against New Zealand, which is set to start tomorrow. Also Read | BCCI Removes Impact Player Rule In Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Shami had denied the reports earlier that the injury in his knee got worse while he was recovering at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. On X (formerlt known as Twitter), Shami posted: “Why these type of baseless rumors? I’m working hard and trying my level best to recover. Neither the BCCI nor me have mentioned that I am out of the Border Gavaskar series. I request the public to stop paying attention to such news from unofficial sources. Please stop and don’t spread such fake fake fake & fake news, especially without my statement.” During his absence, India has given Test debut to pacer Akash Deep, who performed well along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, while leading the pace attack.