‘There was a sense of fear’: Mohammed Shami opens up on his journey to international comeback after a year

The long wait for international return came to an end after Mohammed Shami was added to the India squad for the T20I series against England. He was also included in the ODI squad for the series against England and the Champions Trophy. 

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Ahead of the T20I series against England, with the opening match starting on 22nd January at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, Team India pacer Mohammed Shami shared his arduous journey from injury setback to making an international comeback. Shami was on the sidelines for over a year after the ODI World Cup 2023 Final due to injury and underwent surgery on his left Achilles tendon in London. 

Due to the surgery, Shami missed the entire IPL 2024 and T20 World Cup 2024, where India emerged as the champions. He also missed the ODI series against Sri Lanka, and the Test series against England, Bangladesh, and New Zealand. After recovering from surgery, Shami underwent extensive rehabilitation and started bowling in the nets at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. However, there was a panic among the BCCI selectors and Team India management as Mohammed Shami suffered a swelling in his knee, which further delayed his international comeback, 

The veteran pacer was supposed to join the Indian team for the remaining two Tests of the five-match series against Australia. However, the BCCI medical team declared him unfit to make an international comeback, thus he didn’t travel to Australia. 

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The long wait for international return came to an end after Shami was added to the India squad for the T20I series against England. He was also included in the ODI squad for the series against England and the Champions Trophy. 

Speaking in a video posted by BCCI on its X handle (formerly Twitter), Shami said that he waited for over a year to make his return to Team India. He added that he had a fear whether he would get injured again during the rehabilitation

“.I waited for an entire year and I worked very hard (to get back to full fitness). There was a sense of fear (of getting injured during rehabilitation) even while running," the veteran pacer said. 

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The Amroha-born cricketer stated that it is not easy for any players to get injured when they are in form, as making an international comeback is very difficult. 

"It is difficult for any player to get injured after being in full flow, go the the NCA (National Cricket Academy) for rehabilitation and then make a comeback," Shami said. 

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Before making his international return, Mohammed Shami made his return to competitive cricket for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, where he picked seven wickets. This was followed by 11 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and five wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. 

The sign of Mohammed Shami returning to competitive cricket after a long hiatus was witnessed after he bowled to India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar after the team’s eight-wicket defeat at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. 

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Mohammed Shami said that injuries make any athlete stronger as it would help them to work harder and harder in order to make a comeback on the field. 

“When you go through injuries, I feel you grow stronger as an athlete, this is what I feel. Because you have to repeat a lot of things while being mentally strong." Shami said. 

The return of Mohammed Shami is very essential for Team India, considering the uncertainty over Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place from February 19 to March 9. 

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Mohammed Shami is delighted to come out of the injury phase and is ready to put the best forward for Team India in the white-ball series against England and Champions Trophy 2025. He added that confidence is an utmost important factor in every task. 

“Whatever is done, is done. I have crossed that (injury) phase. If you work hard you will get the results. That's what I believe in. If you get injured you have to make a comeback for your team and for your country. So fight and grow.” the 34-year-old said. 

"If you are strong and believe in yourself and you have confidence in your abilities, have self-belief, then I don't think you will find any difference. Confidence is important for any task," he added.