After Amit Mishra's explosion on Virat Kohli; Mohammed Shami says this in the same interview

India star Mohammed Shami is currently on the sidelines, recovering from an ankle injury that has kept him on the sidelines for months now.

The right-arm pacer has not played any competitive game since he starred with the bat in the ODI World Cup last year. His last competitive game was the World Cup final in November. He had finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker even though he did not get a chance in the play eleven in the first four games.

In 7 games, Mohammed Shami had picked up an impressive 24 wickets with the help of 3 five-wicket hauls and one 4-wicket haul. What makes his performance even more remarkable is that he did it with an injured ankle. He played through pain during the competition and had to take injections to treat his ankle.

Soon after the World Cup, he was sidelined and has not returned to action since then. He also had to undergo surgery on his right Achilles tendon in London. Due to the long injury layoff, the star pacer missed the tour of South Africa, the home Test series against England, IPL 2024 as well as the T20 World Cup last month that India won.

And as Mohammed Shami spent time on the sidelines while watching his teammates play for Team India, only two of his teammates called him to check on him. Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra Podcast, he has revealed that only Virat Kohli and Ishant Kishan called him while he was away from action.

"Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma are my best friends. They are the ones who call me and check on me when I am injured and in the recovery process," said Mohammed Shami.

Mohammed Shami said "Virat Kohli & Ishant Sharma are my Best friends - they are the ones who call me & check me when I am injured & in recovery process". [Shubhankar Mishra YT] pic.twitter.com/o1pa6yT9xF

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 19, 2024

When Virat Kohli defended Mohammed Shami:

Mohammed Shami indeed shares a very good and close bond with Virat Kohli. In 2021, Kohli came out in support of his teammate after he was targeted by trolls following India's 10-wicket loss against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. The trolls had

"Attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing one can do as a human. That is a very sacred and personal thing. People take out their frustration because they have no understanding of what we do," Kohli had said at that time.

Meanwhile, Kohli will be seen in action soon when India takes on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series. The series is scheduled to get underway on August 2. Kohli has not played a competitive game since the conclusion of the T20 World Cup.