Mohammed Shami is putting in the hard yards to attain full fitness ahead of BGT.© X (Twitter)
India pacer Mohammed Shami is putting in the hard yards to attain full fitness ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. India are set to tour Australia for a five-match Test series between November 2024 and January 2025. There has been ongoing speculation about Shami returning to action after a lengthy absence. He last played for India during the 2023 ODI World Cup final on November 19. However, he has been out of action ever since, owing to an ankle injury.
The pacer has been recovering at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after undergoing a surgery to his ankle earlier this year. There is still a possibility that Shami might attain full fitness ahead of the team's departure Down Under.
Just hours after India lost the opening Test to New Zealand in Bengaluru, Shami was seen bowling in full tilt on the same pitch. The session was closely monitored by India bowling coach Morne Morkel. A video of the same has gone viral on social media.
Mohammed Shami, with splendid hair, now bowling as he continues his rehab. pic.twitter.com/prtnEgmtl5
— Swaroop Swaminathan (@arseinho) October 20, 2024
The latest video of Shami bowling in the nets comes after India captain Rohit Sharma confirmed that he isn't keen to bring Shami to Australia for the Test series even if he is fit. The reason behind this decision is the fact that Shami is 'undercooked', having not played cricket for a long time.
"To be honest, it is difficult to make a call on him for the Australia series. He had a setback and had swelling in his knees. That put him back a little bit and had to start again. He's at the NCA with doctors and physios. We don't want to bring undercooked Shami to Australia. We are keeping our fingers crossed," Rohit said.
"He was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100 per cent, he had swelling in his knee, that put him back a little bit in his recovery. So, he had to start again. Right now, he's at NCA, he's working with the physios and the doctors at NCA," he added.