“Knee is fine, my fitness is good”: Shami provides injury update ahead of BGT series

Gurugram (Haryana) [India], October 21 (ANI): India’s seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami issued a fitness update as he continues his journey of regaining full fitness after undergoing surgery on his Achilles tendon earlier this year.

Shami has been out of action since India’s heartbreaking defeat against Australia in Ahmedabad in the ODI World Cup final last year.

Since then, he has served his time on the sidelines and has missed out on the T20 World Cup, India’s series against England, Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand.

Shami was expected to return to on-field action in the Duleep Trophy and the Irani Cup. However, he was omitted from the squads.

With the highly-anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy set to commence in Australia on November 22, Shami revealed that his knee is fine and is hopeful that he can soon return to the on-field action.

“The knee is fine, and my fitness is good. Hopefully, the progress goes on, and I get fully fit and make a comeback to the field,” Shami told ANI during the Eugenix hair sciences event.

Recently, Shami bowled for more than an hour at one of the main pitches at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium after the Rohit Sharma-led side’s disappointing eight-wicket loss against New Zealand.

He was trying to find his groove by hitting the deck with the scorching deliveries that he is known to deliver. In the videos that went viral on social media, India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and bowling coach Morne Morkel were also present during Shami’s bowling practice.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the 34-year-old started his session at around 2:30 Pm and finished at 3:50 Pm on Sunday after India conceded defeat to New Zealand in the first Test match of the series.

Before the first Test match between India and New Zealand, skipper Rohit emphasized the team’s cautious approach, stating they do not want an unfit Shami to participate in the Test series due to swelling in his knees that has hampered his recovery.

Rohit explained, “To be honest, it is difficult to make a call on him for the Australia series. He had a setback with swelling in his knees, which delayed his recovery. He is currently at the NCA with doctors and physios. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. We are keeping our fingers crossed.”