Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami is not sure when he will return to the national team. Instead, Shami plans to play in domestic matches to work his way back into the team. Shami has not played since India’s loss in the ODI World Cup final against Australia on November 19 in Ahmedabad. He had ankle surgery in February 2024 and has been recovering since then. Shami has begun practicing by bowling in the nets at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
“It’s hard to predict when I’ll be back. I’m working really hard, but you might see me play for Bengal before I wear the Indian jersey again. I plan to play a few matches for Bengal and be fully ready for them,” Shami said at an event honoring him by the East Bengal Club in Kolkata.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it clear that Indian players must participate in domestic cricket if they want to return to the national team. The BCCI has instructed all cricketers to play in domestic matches when they are not busy with national responsibilities, except for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah.
This decision emphasizes the BCCI’s belief in the value of playing domestic cricket, which is important for keeping players in good form and condition. The instruction also requires Test specialists to get ready for the upcoming Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Shami mentioned that he didn’t expect his injury to become so severe before important events like the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup 2024.
“We never expected the injury to be this bad. Our plan was to deal with it after the T20 World Cup because we had the IPL and the big ICC T20 event happening one after the other soon after last year’s World Cup,” Shami explained.
“However, it got worse during the ODI World Cup, and I didn’t think it was right to keep playing with it. Even the doctors didn’t realize how serious the injury would become and how long it would take to recover,” he continued.
Shami missed the IPL 2024 for GT and couldn’t participate in India’s winning campaign at the T20 World Cup.
![Virat Kohli throws his wicket away to a suicidal run out just before stumps in Mumbai Test against New Zealand [WATCH]](https://i1.wp.com/cricxtasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/virat_kohli_run_out_ind_vs_nz.png?w=380&resize=380,220&ssl=1 "Virat Kohli throws his wicket away to a suicidal run out just before stumps in Mumbai Test against New Zealand [WATCH]")