Mohammed Shami returned to professional cricket after a hiatus of one year, having battled an injury. Here are the latest updates about his fitness and probable comeback date in India’s squad.
Shami has been out of action since his prolific run in the ODI World Cup last year due to an ankle injury. The bowler underwent surgery in February and went to the National Cricket Academy for rehabilitation, forcing him to skip the 2024 Indian Premier League. Several reports were speculating the seamer’s comeback before he was ruled out of the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy for failing to recover in time.
Shami shines on his comeback
Shami made his first professional appearance since recovery in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, having been picked for Bengal’s squad for their fixture against Madhya Pradesh. He opened the bowling but lacked rhythm at the start. The right-arm pacer bowled a few good bouncers, with occasional loose deliveries here and there. After finishing day one without success, Shami returned with figures of 19-4-54-4 to successfully announce his comeback.
Shami is currently representing Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. His best performance (3-21) so far came against Hyderabad, steering his team to an eight-wicket win. In his latest outing, he set up Bengal's win against Meghalaya with a measly spell of 1-16 off his four overs.
The most economical spell in the 21st century, and the second best in Test cricket history 🤯
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 2, 2024
Jayden Seales entered the record books with a spell for the ages during the Kingston Test match against Bangladesh.
Check the full list here ➡️ https://t.co/l61xKACqPs pic.twitter.com/RfQng4rvAk
Shami could fly to Australia for 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy – report
According to a Cricbuzz report, Shami is being closely monitored for a probable comeback into India’s Test side in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having failed to get match-fit when the squad was announced initially.
"Mohammed Shami is expected to fly to Australia at some point during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is ensuring that, when the decision is finally made by the national selectors in collaboration with the team management, it is the right one," the report claimed.
It added: "Shami is also being asked to bowl a specific number of deliveries each day, with both his pre-match and post-match conditions being carefully monitored."
The second Test of the series starts on December 6 in Adelaide, followed by the third on December 14 in Brisbane, fourth on Boxing Day in Melbourne, and the fifth on January 3 in Sydney.
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