Seasoned India pacer Mohammed Shami on Monday declared himself pain-free.
But the speedster wants to prove his fitness in domestic cricket by playing at least “one or two” games to make a strong case for selection for the tour of Australia starting next month.
Shami, who has not played since the ODI World Cup final last November, bowled full tilt in the nets after India’s opening Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru on Sunday.
This was a few days after skipper Rohit Sharma revealed that Shami had swelling in his knees which hasaffected his rehabilitation from an ankle injury sustained last year.
“I am very happy with how I bowled. I was bowling from half run-up before that because I didn’t want to take too much load. But yesterday (Sunday), I decided to go full tilt, and I bowled at 100 per cent,” the 34-year-old told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event.
“The result was good. I am 100 per cent pain-free. Everyone has been wonderingfor a long time about whether I will make it for the Australia series, but it is still sometime away.”
India are expected to leave for Australia two weeks before the series opener in Perth beginning November 22, leaving Shami just about enough time to feature in two Ranji games for Bengal.
Bengal take on Kerala at home from October 26 before travelling to Bengaluru to face Karnataka from November 6. Is he ready for Bengal’snext game?
“I don’t know if I can play the next match. But the day I feel I can bowl 20 to 30overs and doctors give me the clearance, I will go. I want to spend maximum time onthe ground before the Australia series.
“I don’t want that I clear fitness here in India and something happens there (in Australia). I want to be totally sure about my fitness before going there,” said Shami, who was only part of the Adelaide Test on the previous tour of Australia in 2020-21.
While Shami wants to play in Ranji, the Bengal team management is still unsure about his availability. As of Monday, there hasn’t been any communication to the team from Shami’s side. Besides, he hasn’t been officially declared fit yet by the NCA.
Shami insisted he is fully focused on getting fit in time. “The only thing on my mind is to ensure that I am fit andhow strong I can be for the Australia series. I can see what kind of attack we need in Australia,” he said.
While being away from action is never desirable for a player, Shami counts the positives of his injury-forced break. “Injuries teach you patience and add purity to your game. After your comeback the main thing is if you can maintain your fitness,” said Shami, who has 229 wickets from 64 Tests.
With inputs from PTI
