Veteran Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been out of action since late November 2023. India’s ODI World Cup final against Australia was his last international match for India.
Shami has been nursing an ankle injury since the ODI World Cup. There were also reports that he had to get an injection in his knee during the World Cup. Shami has missed the IPL 2024, the T20 World Cup and will now miss the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.
He recently posted a picture from his training session, which took the internet by storm. It was also his way of informing his fans that he is returning to the Indian team.
In a recent conversation with YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra, he spoke at length about many things related to Indian cricket and also opened up about his decision to skip the T20 World Cup.
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Before Shami, Amit Mishra appeared on his show and made bombshell revelations about Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. Shami said that he was not fit enough to play in the T20 World Cup. He also said that he wanted to share with his teammates how he felt about not playing in the T20 World Cup.
“If I’m sitting at home today feeling unwell, I can only watch the sport as a fan. Those players are my friends and colleagues, and I can only tell them what I feel from the outside and help them play better. We don’t have much in our hands. As for the winner’s medal, I also dream of winning the World Cup,” he added.
Shami said he will come back stronger after missing the T20 World Cup. In the chat, he looked back at his performances for India in the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups.
Shami took 14 wickets in just four matches in the 2019 tournament, including a hat-trick against Afghanistan. In the 2023 tournament, he became the top wicket-taker with 24 wickets and played a major role in India’s unbeaten run heading into the final.
“I have never avoided situations, I have never taken the easy way out of situations. The more I face adversity, the stronger I become. I become more clear. If you look at 2015, I took the most wickets. In 2019, I was at my best. The same will be true in 2023. If I get an opportunity, I will give 100 per cent,” Shami added.
In the absence of Shami Jasprit Bumrah, he led India’s pace attack in the T20 World Cup, taking 15 wickets and finishing as Player of the Series. Arshdeep Singh finished with 17 wickets. With both fast bowlers rested for the Zimbabwe series, India gave opportunities to Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar and Tushar Deshpande in the series against Zimbabwe.
With Shami out of the Sri Laka series, Mohd Siraj, Khalil Ahmed and Arshdeep Singh have been included in the T20I squad. Meanwhile, all three players have been named in India’s ODI squad along with Harit Rana.
I feel better now and the pain is starting to subside: Mohamed Shami
Concluding his conversation with Shubhankar Mishra, Shami gave an update on his health and said he hopes to be back soon.
“I feel better now. I can train better now. The pain is starting to go down. But when I start to put weight on my body, the stiffness starts to set in. But I got used to it over time. I’m starting to get back on the track. I hope it’s going to happen soon,” Shami concluded.
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