The hopes of seeing Mohammed Shami back on the cricket field are on the rise. The India pacer’s recovery from an ankle injury is on the right track. If Shami’s recent updates on Instagram are anything to go by, then the right-arm pacer is raring to return to the Indian side.
Shami posted a video on his Instagram story where he was seen sweating it out in the gym and also bowling in the nets. He did not run in at full tilt but it doesn’t appear to be that far off.
Late on Tuesday night, Shami posted photos from his training session, making his intentions loud and clear through the caption. “Ball in hand and obsession in my heart, ready to turn the game,” he wrote.
Shami’s realistic chance of making a comeback to the Indian side is during the home Test series against Bangladesh, which starts on September 19. But before that, he must prove his match fitness in the Duleep Trophy. The prestigious tournament, which will be played in a non-zonal format and between four teams picked by the national selectors, is slated to begin on September 4.
If Shami manages to be fit before the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee sits to pick four teams with an eye on India’s Test future, then his comeback in the Bangladesh series cannot be ruled out.
Shami’s last competitive cricket match was back in November when he played the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad, which India lost. Shami had a tournament to remember, as he amazed fans and experts alike with his pace and swing, taking 24 wickets in just seven games at an average of 10.70 and an economy rate of 5.26, with a four-wicket haul and three five-wicket hauls. His best figures were 7/57 against New Zealand in the semifinal.
Shami played through pain in that tournament and did not allow it to affect his performance. He missed the tour to South Africa following the tournament and the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in January.
He went under the knife in February for an Achilles tendon injury, which caused him to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA, which India won after beating South Africa in the final.
With 448 wickets in 188 international matches, including 11 five-wicket hauls, Shami is considered one of the finest pacers of the modern era.