India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has made considerable progress in his recovery from an ankle injury that has sidelined him from cricket since the ODI World Cup last November. The hope is that he will be ready to play India's home season, which begins with a Test series against Bangladesh in September.
The selectors have been apprised of Shami's progress and a decision on whether he should play at least one of the Duleep Trophy matches, beginning on September 5 in Anantapur, to prove his fitness will be taken soon.
Shami is currently in his final stages of rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Last month, he had resumed bowling for the first time since his surgery and is understood to have slowly built up his bowling workload after being pain free.
Prior to India's departure for the tour of Sri Lanka in July, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had confirmed Shami had "started to bowl" and the first Test against Bangladesh starting on September 19 in Chennai "was always the goal" for his comeback.
"We more or less know who the guys are, there are some injuries at the moment and hope they will be back up," Agarkar had said. "Shami has started to bowl which is a good sign. September 19 is the first Test and that was always the goal. I don't know if that is his timeline for recovery, will have to ask the guys at the NCA about that.
"There are so many Tests coming. We will need some depth. Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj have been around for a while, these are the obvious ones. But there will be some conversation around it. Got a lot of first-class cricket coming up so we can build guys up like that."
Late last month in Kolkata, Shami had expressed hope of playing for Bengal first before returning to the national team, while he took part informally in a few motivational and fitness sessions for the state players.
Even if Shami misses some or all of India's home Tests - two against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand - he still has enough time to build his bowling rhythm for the tour of Australia, for which the team will depart shortly after the third Test against New Zealand ends on November 5. There is the Ranji Trophy beginning in October, following the BCCI's decision to split the first-class competition into two halves to prevent matches being affected by weather disruptions, especially during winter in north India. India's A team will also play two first-class games in Australia from October 31, giving Shami plenty of opportunities should he need them.
The ankle injury, which came to light soon after the 2023 ODI World Cup, was initially believed to be not so severe. Shami had been included in India's Test squad for the two-match series in South Africa in December-January subject to fitness. He was subsequently withdrawn from the tour.
Shami went back to the NCA in the hope of recovering for the home Tests against England in February-March, but was advised surgery after he experienced continuous swelling on his right ankle, forcing him to miss the series and IPL 2024 for Gujarat Titans.
Shami was a key player in India's run to the final of the ODI World Cup, taking 24 wickets in just seven games at an average of 10.70 and strike rate of 12.20.
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