Indian pace spearhead Mohammed Shami expressed his happiness to be playing for India again as he remembered his fears and anxiety while recovering from an ankle injury soon after the 2023 ODI World Cup that kept him out for a lengthy period.
Shami underwent surgery to his achilles tendon in London in February, 2024. The Bengal pacer was sidelined for over a year before he slowly made his way back by playing domestic cricket and then was picked for the England T20I and ODI series ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025.
Speaking to International Cricket Council (ICC) ahead of India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh on Thursday, Shami recollected his conversation with his surgeon.
“My first question to the doctor was ‘how many days until I can be back on the field’. He said my priority is to get you to walk, then jog and then run and thinking about playing competitive cricket is still a distant goal. I always wondered when I would be able to put my feet on the ground again someone who is used to running on the field constantly was now in crutches,” Shami said.
The pacer was just off a stunning 2023 ODI World Cup where he had picked up 24 wickets from just seven matches including a career-best 7-57 against New Zealand in the semifinal.
“For the first two months I often doubted whether I would be able to play again as an injury like this followed by a 14-month break can pull you down. After 60 days when they asked me to put my feet on the ground, you wont believe me, but I have ever been more scared to put my foot on the ground,” Shami said.
Also Read:
Close to a year since being injured, Shami returned to competitive cricket in the Ranji Trophy against Madhya Pradesh and allayed fears of his fitness with a superb 4-54 in the first innings. He then played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and three matches in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy before making a full-fledged international return in the second T20I against England in Rajkot.
“The passion for representing my country has brought me this far. It was tough and there was pain, but with resilience and patience I made it through,” Shami said.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
