'It was not a smart move' - Sunil Gavaskar feels resting Mohammed Shami for third Test hurt India

Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami made a comeback into the side for the fourth Test against Australia being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He was rested for the third Test played at the Holkar Stadium in Indore for workload management.

The speedster was a bit wayward in his opening spell on Day 1 of the ongoing fourth Test as Australian openers Travis Head and Usman Khawaja got off to a good start to their innings.

Seeing Shami out of rhythm, former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar questioned the team management for resting him for the third Test as there was a gap of eight days between the third and the fourth Test.

"Resting Mohammed Shami was not a smart move. You had 8 days break between the 2nd and the 3rd Test. He bowled military medium in his first two deliveries. The batter is nervous, he is not yet off the mark. If he sees the ball go harmlessly to the keeper, he gets an opportunity to see what the pitch is doing. He can then mentally start to relax just that little bit,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports.

"Great bowlers were at you straightaway, from the first ball. I think, you know that Shami is the kind of bowler who likes to be in rhythm, may be you shouldn't rest him. I think it's important to get your bowling muscles going, in the gym, you don't get your bowling muscles going,” he added.

Shami is the leading wicket-taker among seamers in the series having scalped nine wickets at an average of 18.44.

Coming back to Day 1 of the fourth Test, Australian captain Steven Smith won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Head and Khawaja added 61 runs for the first wicket before Ravichandran Ashwin got the first strike for India.

Usman Khawaja shines on Day 1

Coming back into the attack in his second spell, Shami destroyed the stumps of Marnus Labuschagne sending him back to the pavilion cheaply. Smith came in at no four and was looking in good touch, however, he once again fell prey to Ravindra Jadeja, as he chopped the ball back onto his stumps getting dismissed for 38.

Shami further picked up his second wicket of the day cleaning up Peter Handscomb. While all this was happening at one end, Khawaja continued to hold the other end and scored a magnificent hundred. Australia finished Day 1 on 255/4 with Khawaja on 104* and Cameron Green batting on 49* at the crease.

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