Short-term, Mohammed Shami is officially no longer in the reckoning for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as a swollen left knee has put paid to his hopes of joining the Indian team in Australia. Long-term, it feels like the end of the road for the 34-year-old fast bowler as far as Test cricket is concerned.
A BCCI press release on Monday confirmed that Shami wouldn’t be sent to Australia for the last two Tests of the ongoing series. “Based on the current medical assessment, the BCCI Medical Team has determined that his knee requires more time for controlled exposure to bowling loads,” said the press release. “Consequently, he has not been deemed fit for consideration for the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”
Shami last played international cricket in the ODI World Cup final last year. He underwent a heel surgery earlier this year and did rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Even during that period, he suffered a few setbacks – a knee swelling and a side strain. Eventually, when he returned to competitive cricket after a gap of almost a year, he did his bowling under the supervision of the NCA physio.
“The BCCI Medical Team at the Centre of Excellence has been working closely with Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami on his recovery and rehabilitation after his right heel surgery,” said the press release. “Shami has completely recovered from this heel problem.”
It added: “Shami bowled 43 overs in the Ranji Trophy match for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in November. Following this, he played in all nine games of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), where he also engaged in additional bowling sessions on the sidelines to build his bowling volume in order to get ready for the Test matches.”
Shami was supposed to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. But he was rested for Bengal’s tournament opener against Delhi. “However, his left knee has exhibited minor swelling due to increased joint loading from his bowling workload,” the BCCI release stated. “The swelling is on the expected lines, owing to the increased bowling after a prolonged period.”
Shami is currently undergoing “targeted strength and conditioning work” at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence to “build his bowling loads needed to meet the demands of the longest format of the game”. Easier said than done though. He has reached the age when a fast bowler’s career starts sauntering towards sunset.
Even some all-time greats of the game bore the brunt of injuries as they moved the wrong side of 30. Injuries and surgeries took the sheen out of Dennis Lillee and Imran Khan’s bowling and eventually pushed them towards retirement. Kapil Dev was never the same bowler after undergoing four knee surgeries.
Shami could still make a comeback in white-ball cricket, starting with the upcoming Champions Trophy in February-March 2025. But the longformat, with India’s next Test series in June (against England), could be a bridge too far. Also, at this stage of his career, it would be interesting to see whether Shami would be too inclined to play Test cricket, risking a lucrative IPL contract.
Shami has had a history of injuries that impacted his career. He showed laudable bouncebackability. But this time, the degree of difficulty is higher. Also, with transition in the air, whether the Indian team management would like to bring him back to the fold is a matter of conjecture.
All said and done, the BCCI at least has made things clear, albeit belatedly. Shami’s health update has come on the heels of Rohit Sharma’s demand to provide clarity. “It’s high time somebody from NCA talks about him (Shami),”the India captain had said after the third Test in Brisbane. “Really, that’s our National Cricket Academy where he is doing his rehab. Those guys are the ones who need to come up and give us some kind of update.”
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