Mohammed Shami's next 10 days essential for return to India squad for BGT 2024-25

India National Cricket Team premier pacer Mohammed Shami is on the path to recovery after a long injury layoff, and he is targeting the second half of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 for his comeback to the squad.

According to a report in the Indian Express, the next 10 days will be very essential for Mohammed Shami to regain full fitness and stage his comeback to competitive cricket.

Mohammed Shami Out Of Action Since November 2023

Mohammed Shami was last seen in action in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. The 34-year-old has not played competitive cricket since his appearance for the Indian team on November 19, 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad where India lost the final of the tournament against Australia National Cricket Team.

His absence has been due to an Achilles tendon injury for which he was forced to undergo surgery. After a successful surgery, he began his rehabilitation program and things were going all good for him.

Mohammed Shami was expected to make his comeback in the home Test series against Bangladesh or New Zealand. However, he suffered a fresh knee setback that ruined all his comeback plans.

It was revealed by the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma that Shami suffered a swollen knee after nearly getting to 100% fitness. India would be hoping for Mohammed Shami's return soon as he will be very important for the team down under.

Mohammed Shami To Return For Second Half Of BGT 2024-25

Shami, on Monday, October 21, spoke to the reporters on the sidelines of an event where he revealed that he is now pain-free and wants to play domestic cricket before returning to the Indian team for the Australia tour.

As per the Indian Express, Shami is very close to regaining match fitness, and once he achieves that, he will get a fitness clearance certificate from NCA, which will allow him to play Ranji Trophy and make his comeback to Team India for the second half of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

The workload of the right-arm pacer will be increased gradually as he has resumed bowling with a full run-up. The next 10 days are very important for Shami as some work still needs to be done regarding his endurance and ability to ball long spells.

If he continues his recovery then he can play the match against Karnataka - Sources

Reportedly, if everything goes as planned, Shami will play the fourth match of Bengal in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25 against Karnataka or the fifth game against Madhya Pradesh.

"If he continues his recovery then he can play the match against Karnataka. If he plays that fixture, then he can even travel with the Indian team to Australia and play the practice fixture and then slowly integrate back into the squad. Since he suffered a setback in his comeback, he has to go to the rehab process again and it is now in the final stages,” sources in the team management revealed to the new outlet.

Overall, Shami has played 64 Test matches for the side and has bagged 229 wickets at an average of 27.71, an economy of 3.30, and a strike rate of 50.2.