KOLKATA: He came, met up with his old India teammates and then to the great relief of the team management, bowled full throttle.
All eyes were on Mohammed Shami on Sunday, as the pacer returned to the national fold after more than a year following injury and prolonged rehab, with the India side getting down for the first practice session at the Eden Gardens ahead of the five-match T20I series opener against England starting Wednesday.
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With his troubled left knee still strapped heavily, Shami was the first bowler to pick up the white ball to loosen up. Bowling coach Morne Morkel marked the good length spot on the practice pitch as Shami bowled with a short run-up. However, even in those few deliveries, he got the ball to move around. It brought back memories.
Over the course of a fine career, Shami has played some of his best cricket at the Eden Gardens. He will begin his comeback in India colours too from the same venue where it all began way back in Nov 2010, when as a 20-year-old boy from Amroha in UP, he made his first-class debut for Bengal against Assam. It went almost unnoticed, but the pacer picked up three wickets to be the highest wicket-taker for his side in that match.
Three years later, an Eden Gardens packed to witness Sachin Tendulkar’s penultimate Test match, also happened to see the rise of a future star of Indian cricket when Shami bagged nine wickets in his debut Test against West Indies. One legend was departing, another was taking form.
At the age of 34 and with the wear and tear that his body had undergone over the years, it might not be wrong to assume that this homecoming would be the old warhorse’s home stretch. On Sunday, after some fielding practice drills, Shami got into his bowling shoes to line up with fellow pacer Harshit Rana at the pacers’ net. The duo bowled long spells to openers Abhishek Sharma and later Sanju Samson.
The need to get back a fit-again Shami has become paramount as questions remain over the availability of the recuperating Jasprit Bumrah for the Champions Trophy beginning next month. If Bumrah fails to get ready on time, India will need the experience of Shami to lead the attack.
BCCI‘s head of sports science Nitin Patel and National Cricket Academy (NCA) trainer Nishant Bordoloi have thus put the pacer in a strict dietary regime that includes more fruits and no place for his favourite biryani.
It was learnt that Shami is unlikely to play all the five matches of the T20I series against England, but being more of a rhythm bowler, it is imperative for him to get into his stride before the Champions Trophy.
Skipper Rohit Sharma on Saturday heaped praise on Shami, calling him the “stalwart of white ball cricket”. The team will look up to him to deliver again, starting here at the Eden Gardens.
