Shami bowled two overs in his first spell. (PC: Screengrab/X)
By the time the toss took place in the third T20I between India and England in Rajkot, Mohammed Shami was already marking his run-up. There was a clear hint that his elongated international hiatus was about to come to an end. India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed it at the toss, casually mentioning: “Arshdeep (Singh) is resting, Shami is back.” From Indian cricket’s point of view, though, it was a significant moment.
Before this, Shami’s last appearance for India was in the 2023 (ODI) World Cup final. His last T20I was the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, against England. He suffered an ankle injury during the 50-over World Cup, played through pain, went under the surgeon’s knife after the tournament and missed international cricket for the whole of 2024.
Going ahead, the 34-year-old is unlikely to be part of India’s T20I set-up. He has been included in the squad for this series as a bedding-in process for the ODIs ahead – a three-match series against England followed by the Champions Trophy next month. With question marks over Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness, India would like to have a fully fit Shami firing on all cylinders at the ICC event.
About a week with the Indian team, and Shami has already started to look a lot leaner. When he returned to domestic cricket for Bengal in November last year, he was clearly overweight and had to go through a weight-loss programme under the supervision of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) physios. After returning to the Indian team fold, he wasn’t straightaway brought into the playing XI. It gave rise to speculation over his fitness.
On the eve of the third T20I, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, however, cleared the air, saying that fitness was not a problem for the fast bowler. “Yes, Shami is fit but something about him playing or not playing, I am not the one who can answer,” Kotak told reporters at the pre-match press conference. “There’s definitely a plan looking at coming matches as well as one-dayers. So, that is something Gautam (Gambhir) and obviously Surya will take a call on. But (Shami’s) fitness, definitely is not a problem, depending on how they are planning to build his load.”
Talking to RevSportz a couple of days ago, Shami’s childhood coach Mohammed Badruddin said as much, predicting that the team management would play his ward in the last two T20Is. The inclusion came early.
Basically, only two kinds of pitches are possible at this venue in Rajkot – a highway (usually prepared for limited-over internationals) or a snakepit (frequently used for Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy matches). For a T20I, a rank turner was out of the question. The pitch was a batting paradise, notwithstanding that the majority of the England batsmen were spooked by Varun Chakravarthy.
Shami started off with a loosener. Phil Salt attempted a mighty heave, but missed it. The next ball moved a bit in the air, but Salt hit it down the ground for a four. Overall, a six-run over marked a steady start. Shami was bowling in the mid-130s.
He went close to 140kph in his next over, maintained a consistent length, but Ben Duckett showed enough innovation to step across and scoop a good length delivery for a six. “It’s not easy, coming back from a long lay-off,” Sunil Gavaskar said on air.
Shami returned with 0/25 from three overs. For him, it would be a slow burn.
