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Veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami was part of India’s first practice session ahead of the five-match T20I series against England.
Mohammed Shami is set to make his international comeback during England T20Is. (Screengrab/BCCI)
India fast bowler Mohammed Shami is nearing his international return after spending over a year on the sidelines recovering from an ankle injury. Shami was part of India’s training session for the upcoming England T20I series starting January 22.
The 34-year-old was seen bowling with his left knee heavily strapped on Sunday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata – the venue of the first T20I against England.
Shami bowled at full steam during the training session and engaged in discussions with India bowling coach Morne Morkel with the two working on hitting particular lengths.
Shami also bowled alongside allrounder Hardik Pandya and rookie Harshit Rana.
Shami last played for India in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup in November and following that, underwent a surgery to address an ankle injury. The Indian team management was hopeful of his return to action during last year’s Bangladesh Test series at home but failed to attain full fitness in time and ended up missing the New Zealand series and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
In the meantime, he made his competitive return in domestic cricket for Bengal via Ranji Trophy and also took part in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy as well.
During the Australia tour when India captain Rohit Sharma was quizzed on Shami’s absence despite the bowler playing domestic cricket, he indicated that a fresh knee concern behind the delay.
Earlier this month, BCCI named Shami in India’s squad for the England T20I series following which he was also named in their squad for the England ODIs and the Champions Trophy too.
As per reports, Shami bowled for nearly 45 minutes at full throttle and didn’t show any signs of discomfort.
However, as per news agency PTI, Shami did limp back to the changing room briefly before returning.
