No, Mohammed Shami didn’t bowl a single delivery on Day 2 of practice of the India Cricket Team ahead of the IND vs ENG 1st T20I in Kolkata. A day earlier, Shami toiled hard in the nets, but it was an entirely different scenario the following day. It is now understood to be a strategic workload management trick from the Indian board. They don’t want to over-exert the veteran pacer who is keen to make his international return after missing action for more than a year.
On Sunday, the Men in Blue had a tiring session, and Mohammed Shami was the star of the practice. He bowled for over an hour though he looked quite rusty. But the next day, Indian management took no chance to allow Shami to bowl. In fact, he concentrated mainly on his batting today.
No bowling for Mohammed Shami
It was a precautionary measure taken by the Indian management. The team in no way wants to overwork their ace pacer. Shami’s main target obviously is the ICC Champions Trophy. And this IND vs ENG series is just a warm-up series for the pacer so that he manages to find back his rhythm back.
Shami’s last outing came in the ODI World Cup Final 2023 against Australia. Following which he underwent a knee surgery and now has been out of International action for a year and 2 months. While he bowled for over an hour yesterday, it was role reversal today. The veteran pacer however batted for an hour and 10 minutes today facing throwdowns.
Shami didn’t look ill at ease and looked quite confident in hitting the leather with the willow. Yesterday Shami bowled heavily with light strapping on his injured left knee. But then, after his bowling stint, he returned to the ground to have a long chat with Gautam Gambhir. This time, however, he had some heavy strapping on his knee.
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