Rohit revealed that Shami’s recovery has been hampered by swelling in his knees and the team won’t take any chances by picking an “undercooked” version of the ace pacer for the high-intensity Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shami’s last international appearance was during the ODI World Cup final last year. He has since been recuperating from ankle surgery. “To be honest, right now, it’s pretty difficult for us to make a call on him, whether he’ll be fit for this series or the Australia series. He recently had swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual,” Rohit told reporters in Bengaluru on the eve of the opening Test against New Zealand. Shami suffers fresh injury setback Rohit revealed that Shami was getting close to “100 per cent” before the swelling in his knee put him back in his recovery. Due to the setback, Shami has had to start again at the National Cricket Academy, working with the physios and the doctors. Rohit also said the team management wants the veteran pacer to regain full fitness before returning to competitive cricket but before that, the NCA staff will assess the fitness and during the recovery and rehab process might advise Shami to play a couple of internal matches. Shami boasts an impressive record in Test cricket. The pace bowler has picked up 229 wickets in 64 Tests for India at an impressive average of 27.71. India will continue their home season with the three-match series against New Zealand starting on Wednesday, October 16 in Bengaluru. Following the 2-0 whitewash of Bangladesh, Rohit’s men will be aiming to extend their winning streak to 19 straight Test series wins at home. After the conclusion of the NZ Tests, India will tour Australia for a five-Test series, starting November 22.