File image of Mohammed Shami© AFP
Indian cricket fans are eagerly waiting to see the highly-anticipated comeback of pacer Mohammed Shami, who has been out of action due to a knee injury. After giving a memorable performance in the ODI World Cup 2023, Shami underwent a surgery for his injury and has been recovering from it since then. It was expected that the star pacer will returning to the national duty for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in November this year but a recent development has left all the fans worried.
As per a report by the Times of India, Shami has now suffered a swollen knee, which will apparently take another six to eight weeks to heal.
This means that his participation in the five-match Test series against Australia will now be uncertain.
"Shami had resumed bowling, and he was looking on track to make a comeback to competitive cricket soon. But this knee injury has flared up recently. BCCI's medical team is assessing the injury, but it may require quite a bit of time," TOI quoted a BCCI source.
"It's a jolt for the NCA medical team. They have been working on him for over a year. They have one of the best workload management systems in place. The medical team is trying its best to put him back in the park soon."
Earlier in September, Shami had revealed that he is putting his best efforts to return to the field for Team India at the earliest.
"Koshish jaldi hi kar raha hoon kyun ke main janta hoon kaafi time ho gaya hai team se bahar rehte hue (I am working hard to make a comeback soon because I know I have been out of action for quite some time). However, I want to ensure there is no discomfort when I return. I've to work on my fitness, so that there is no discomfort," Shami had said.
"The stronger I return, the better it is for me. I don't want to rush and risk getting injured again, be it against Bangladesh, New Zealand or the Australia series. I've already started bowling, but I won't take any chances until I am 100% fit," he added.