Rohit Sharma heaps praise on Mohammed Shami, calls him ‘stalwart of white-ball cricket’

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 18 (ANI): India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday showered praise on seamer Mohammed Shami and called him the "stalwart" of white-ball cricket.
Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma held a press conference on Saturday to announce the 15-member squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 and ODI series against England.
Shami was named to the ODI squad after more than a year as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the 15-member squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.
Last year, Shami returned to domestic cricket with Bengal after undergoing ankle surgery that kept him sidelined for nearly a year. Shami had also been a part of Bengal's squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Shami had made an impressive comeback to competitive cricket, having last featured in the ODI World Cup 2023 final. Following ankle surgery and overcoming a series of setbacks, he returned to action for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in November.
Speaking at the press conference, Rohit lauded Shami's performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 and said that it was superb to watch him.
"Shami is a stalwart of white ball cricket. What he did recently in the World Cup was superb to watch... if you talk about everyone, you can't please everyone. So, at the end of the day, you try and make the best team and best possible squad to win games under different situations...," Rohit told reporters.
Earlier on January 11, Shami was added to the India squad for the upcoming T20I series against England.
The freshest challenge awaiting for Team India is the ICC Champions Trophy, starting from February 19 till March 9. It will be hosted by Pakistan and UAE, with India playing its matches in UAE under a hybrid model.
The eight-team tournament will feature 15 fifty-over matches and will be played across Pakistan and in Dubai.
The biggest match of the tournament between two arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played on February 23. India will start its campaign against Bangladesh on February 20. India's last league match will be against New Zealand on March 2. The Rohit Sharma-led side will play all their matches in Dubai
India squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja. (ANI)