India skipper Sharma gives update on Shami’s current state with regards to his fitness and recovery from injury.
India skipper Rohit Sharma confirms that pacer Mohammad Shami has indeed met with a setback in his recovery.
Shami had undergone surgery on his right Achilles tendon in February this year. He has now developed a swelling on his knee which has “put him back a little bit in his recovery”, according to Rohit.
“Right now, it is pretty difficult for us to make a call on whether he will be fit for this series or the Australia series,” Rohit said on the eve of India’s first Test against New Zealand, in Bengaluru. “He recently had a setback – he had a swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual.
“He almost got fit – getting close to 100%. Now he has a swelling in his knee. That put him back a little bit in his recovery, so he had to start again fresh.”
Shami’s last involvement in any form of cricket remains the 2023 World Cup Final in November.
In seven matches, he took 24 wickets, making him India’s leading wicket-taker. During the World Cup, he played with discomfort while receiving injections for his ankle.
After undergoing surgery in London earlier this year, Shami would have been eligible to play in the Australia series, which consists of five matches. Right now, Shami is at the NCA collaborating with the physiotherapists. In order to protect Shami’s health from further danger, Rohit thinks they won’t send him to Australia in poor health.
“Right now, he is at NCA . He is working with the physios, [and] the doctors at NCA,” Rohit said. “We are keeping our fingers crossed. I want him fit. We want him to be 100%. More than anything else, we don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That is not going to be the right decision for us.”
“He has not played any cricket for over a year. It is quite tough for a fast bowler to have missed so much of cricket and then suddenly to come out and be at his best,” Rohit said. “It is not ideal. We will give him enough time to recover, to be 100% fit.
“The physios, the trainers, [and] the doctors have set a roadmap for him. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series, and then take a call at what stage of Australia [series] he will be fit for us.”