A day after he was spotted doing a full intensity bowling session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru post India's defeat to New Zealand in the first Test, Mohammed Shami has given India a major boost ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) amid doubts over his fitness.
Shami revealed that he has been gradually upping his workload and bowled full tilt for the first time on Sunday in the nets. The 34-year-old revealed that he is pain free and expressed confidence he will be fit for the tour of Australia.
"I am very happy with how I bowled yesterday. I was bowling from half run-up before that because I didn't want to take too much load. But yesterday, I decided to go full tilt, and I bowled at 100 percent," Shami told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
"The result was good. I am 100 per cent pain-free. Everyone has been wondering for a long time about whether I will make it for the Australia series, but it is still some time away," Shami added.
Shami stated his desire to have enough bowling to his name before travelling Down Under and revealed he will play a couple of Ranji Trophy matches.
"The only thing on my mind is to ensure that I am fit and how strong I can be for the Australia series. I can see what kind of attack we need in Australia. I have to spend more time on the ground. I want to play a couple of (Ranji) matches before I go," Shami added.
Mohammed Shami's Long Injury Absence
Shami has not played any competitive cricket for almost a year with his last appearance coming in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia on 19th November last year. The star pace suffered an ankle injury after his record breaking injury campaign which ruled him out of the Test series against South Africa and England.
Shami underwent surgery in February and had to miss the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as the T20 World Cup.
Last week, India captain Rohit Sharma revealed that Shami suffered a setback in his recovery with a swollen knee issue.
With Mohammed Siraj struggling for form and other pacers still young and inexperienced, Shami's return will come as a major boost to India as they aim to reduce pressure frm Jasprit Bumrah's shoulders.