Mohammed Shami’s Comeback Plans Put on Hold

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Mohd Shami is now set to push his comeback even further as he expresses concern over his chronic injury ahead of the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against Bangladesh in Dubai on 20 February.

Shami is a prominent Indian International cricketer known best for his exceptional right-arm fast bowling. Shami revealed how difficult his comeback has been ever seen he got significantly injured at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023. In the final match against Australia, he suffered a serious ankle injury that sidelined him for almost a year.

His injury led him to surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation period regarding which he shared, “From being in great form during the World Cup to suddenly finding myself on the operating table from that form to being injured was really tough. My first question to the doctor was ‘how many days until I can be back on the field”

Shami told the ICC that the doctor said, “My priority is to get you to walk, then jog and then run’ and thinking about playing competitive cricket is still a distant goal,”

“For the first two months, I often doubted whether I would be able to play again as an injury like this followed by a 14-month break can pull you down,” Shami added

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Shami made a comeback to professional cricket early this year in the Ranji Trophy against Madhya Pradesh at Indore, where he took 7 wickets. He also took 9 wickets in 11 games at the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, his tournament best being 3 wickets for 21 runs.

However, he missed the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy series after the injury started to escalate again, though he did feature in four white-ball fixtures for India last month.

He shared regarding his much-awaited comeback in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, “A lot of thoughts used to run through my mind. Will I be able to do it again? Will I be able to walk without a limp?”

“My motivation has always been to serve my country for as long as possible. Because once you step away you’re just like anyone else. Today, by the grace of god I am playing for India again and feeling much better,” Shami added

Shami is supposed to be a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah due to his injury, he will be playing for India in the Champions Trophy however, whether or not he will be in the playing XI of the opening match on 20 February is unknown.

Also Read: India vs Bangladesh: Champions Trophy 2025 Clash

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