Mohammed Shami said that he is now 100% pain free after suffering a setback in his recovery and hopes to prove his match fitness for the Australia tour by playing “one or two” domestic matches.
The 34 year old pacer, who hasn’t played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup revealed that he bowled with full run-up at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, after the setback for India in the first Test match in Bangalore. He felt optimistic about his fitness.
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Shami’s Words on the Recovery
” It felt great yesterday. Before that, I had been bowling with a half run-up because I didn’t want to put too much load on my body”, Shami said on the sidelines of an event in Gurgaon on Monday.
” We decided yesterday that I would bowl at full intensity for the last two sessions and I gave my 100% it felt good, the results were encouraging. Hopefully, I’ll be back an track soon”.
MOHAMMAD SHAMI BOWLING. 🔥pic.twitter.com/5DQiB4rU0A
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 20, 2024
Shami had been sidelined with a left Achilles heel injury after the World Cup last year and the knee complications added to his woes. Rohit Sharma revealed last week that Shami suffered a swollen knee after nearly getting to 100% fitness and that it was “very difficult” to take a call on the fast bowler at the moment. Rohit further said that taking an “undercooked” Shami to Australia will not be the ‘right decision’ for the team.
“I know everyone has been thinking about whether I will go to Australia or not but that series is still far away,” Shami said, adding that he feels “100%” pain-free.
“The only thing I want to focus on is how to keep myself fit and how to get as strong as I can for the tour. I know what kind of an attack we want for that Test series, so it’s better for me to work on the nuances and 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 that I play one or two domestic matches before going to Australia.