India cricketer Mohammed Shami on Thursday received his first dose of the COVID19 vaccine during the team’s quarantine in Mumbai ahead of the departure for the UK where they will be playing six Tests.
Shami got his first dose of COVID19 vaccine
“Got my first dose of vaccine. I urge everyone to get vaccinated and stay safe. #mshami11 #saddapunjab #TeamIndia #covid_19 #vaccine #india,” tweeted Shami along with his picture of him getting the jab.
Got my first dose of vaccine. I urge everyone to get vaccinated and stay safe. #mshami11 #saddapunjab #TeamIndia #covid_19 #vaccine #india pic.twitter.com/fuTNZpqwVc
— Mohammad Shami (@MdShami11) May 27, 2021
India head coach Ravi Shastri, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, was among the first from the Indian cricket squad to receive the vaccine. He got his first jab in the first week of March itself when vaccination was made open for 45 plus individuals.
Several members of the Indian cricket team including captain Virat Kohli, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant have also taken their first jabs of the vaccine at various centres in the country.
The players are taking covishield as it’s a version of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine which is available in England. “Covishield is a version of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine available in England. This will help BCCI to administer the second dose to the players in England,” a BCCI source had said.
Shami is part of a 24-man Test squad BCCI announced earlier this month for the UK tour. It will get underway from June 18 with the WTC Final.
After a gap of over a month. the five-match Test series will get underway against England from August 4. The final Test of the tour is to be played on September 10.
India’s squad for England Tour
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav,
Subject to fitness clearance
KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper)
Standby players
Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla
India’s tour of England – 2021-22
| S. No | Date | Match | Venue |
| A | 18th – 22nd June | WTC Final vs NZ | Southampton |
| 1 | 4th – 8th August | 1st Test vs England | Nottingham |
| 2 | 12th – 16th August | 2nd Test vs England | London (Lord’s) |
| 3 | 25th – 29th August | 3rd Test vs England | Leeds |
| 4 | 2nd – 6th September | 4th Test vs England | London (Oval) |
| 5 | 10th – 14th September | 5th Test vs England | Manchester |
