On the sidelines for nearly a year, pacer Mohammed Shami claimed that he is now 100 percent “pain-free” and wants to play a couple of Ranji Trophy games to test himself before India travels to Australia for the five-match Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting with the first Test in Perth from November 22.
Shami, who underwent surgery on his right Achilles tendon in February this year, last played for India in the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad on November 19 last year. He was expected to return to action during the ongoing New Zealand series but a swelling on his knee further delayed his comeback.
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On Sunday, the Bengal pacer was seen bowling full tilt at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after India lost the first Test against New Zealand. Shami said that was the first time he had bowled with a full run-up since his recovery.
“It felt great yesterday because I had been bowling with half a run-up on and off since I can’t put too much stress on my body. Yesterday, we decided that I would bowl properly, and I gave my 100 percent. It felt great, (and) the results are good. Hopefully, I’ll be back on track soon,” he said at an event in Gurugram.
Insisting that he was 100 percent pain-free, Shami expressed his desire to spend time at the ground and turn up for a couple of domestic matches before touring Down Under.
“The Australia series is still far away. The only thing I want to focus on is how to keep myself fit, and how strong I can be before going there. I know what kind of an attack we want for that Test series, so it’s better I spend some more time on the ground before going. If I get fit and I get a gap of eight to ten days, then it’s better I play one or two domestic matches before going to Australia.”
“I don’t know when I can play next, but the day I feel comfortable about bowling 20-30 overs and I get the nod from the doctors, I’ll run to play a match. I want to spend as much time as I can on the ground before going for the Australia series.
“I don’t want such a thing that I clear my fitness here and something happens to me there. That’s not what I want. I want to be strong while leaving from here so that there are no issues there,” he added.
While Bengal’s next Ranji Trophy fixture, starting October 26 against Kerala might be too soon for Shami to make his comeback, he could target the two subsequent games — from November 6 against Karnataka in Bengaluru and from November 13 in Indore against Madhya Pradesh, which will mark the end of the first leg of the red-ball tournament.
He could also aim to play the three-day warm-up game slotted between India and India A in Perth before the first Test starts in the same West Australian city.
Shami had played a crucial role in India’s first-ever Test series win in Australia in 2018-19, when he bagged 16 wickets in four matches at 26.18, finishing behind only Jasprit Bumrah’s tally of 21 wickets among fast bowlers in that series. He played just the first Test, in Adelaide, when India toured next in 2020-21 before he returned home with an injury. India went on to win that series with several other players also injured, and fielded a nearly second-string side in Brisbane to take home the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
