There was speculation on the match-fitness of the Indian premier pacer, Mohammad Shami, before the start of the five-match red-ball series in Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. There were questions on how much rhythm he was enjoying or was his knee fully prepared to go with the full intensity with the ball or others.
Mohammad Shami, primarily, wasn’t selected for the Indian squad in the BGT 2024-25 and was asked to feature in one of the games in the domestic circuit. The veteran made his first appearance for Bengal after nearly six years and faced Madhya Pradesh with the red ball in his hand at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
The progression of the pacer was happening under the observation of Nitin Patel, who is the head of the Centre of Excellence’s medical panel. He and his team had been asked to submit the reports of the pacer’s progress to the national selectors and the team management. The Bengal side was advised to keep caution in handling the workload of Shami and not to provide him long spells.
Mohammad Shami had a ginger start in the action, perhaps paying much attention towards the injury, but he later picked up the pacer with his usual run-up, making the betters play consecutive false shots one after another. The veteran’s magic is in his wrist, as the ball is coming very smoothly out of his hand.
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It was his first appearance in comparative cricket since the final of the 2023 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, while it was also the very first red-ball clash for him since the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 at Lord’s. Since then he has missed multiple tours and tournaments.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla hands Mohammad Shami a match-ready certificate
The 34-year-old was included in the team for the South Africa trip, before being eliminated at the eleventh hour due to the knee injury. He missed the five-match home Test series against England due to the successful surgery on his right Achilles tendon, which also kept him away from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Expectations were to see his potential return for the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America, but he missed the entire competition before not being part of the home Test season of five encounters against Bangladesh and New Zealand because of the new knee injury that Mohammad Shami picked as confirmed by their Test captain Rohit Sharma.
In the Ranji fixture, the right-arm fast bowler picked up four wickets in the first innings in his 19 overs, including Shubham Sharma, the opponent captain, who dragged onto the stumps. Saaransh Jain was squared up against the late movement, while Kumar Kartikeya nicked behind, as the last nine wickets fell for 61 runs for the home side.
The Bengal camp was the happiest with the return of Mohammad Shami. Their coach, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, has given his verdict on the match fitness of the 34-year-old.
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“Someone has come back after one year and has bowled 19 overs and taken so many wickets. What’s there to say? He came into the match without doing any match simulation. Can you imagine? But, if he plays more, he will get better.” He expressed his surprise at the smooth comeback of the pacer.
“Mohammed Shami is game-ready. He looked fine while bowling. He bowled 44 overs across two innings, and never did he look out of rhythm or face any fitness issues. He hardly came out of the ground for a breather.” The veteran concluded as the opening game kicks off on November 22.