FAST BOWLER Mohammad Shami is eyeing the home series against South Africa to make a comeback into the Indian team post his knee surgery.
Shami, who took 17 wickets in seven games in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was instrumental in bowling out the opposition in all of India's league games. He felt his knee wasn't 100 percent during the World Cup itself, but played through in spite of the pain as it was an important tourney.
Soon after returning from the World Cup, the bruised knee needed immediate operation, and the cricketer describes the period post that as one of his toughest in his short career so far.
"We came back from the World Cup and during the IPL I was told that the injury was really bad and that I will have to get it operated," Shami told bcci.tv in a recent interview.
"The surgery happened in Mumbai and I was told I will not be able to walk for a month. I was completely bed-ridden. Even when I had to go to the bathroom, someone had to take me there because I couldn't put the foot on the ground. That was a very tough time for me. This was my first major injury and that one month was the most difficult period of my career so far," he added.
After spending rehabilitation-time in Chennai, Shami is all set to join India's preparatory camp ahead of the series against South Africa at Bangalore which will take place from September 21 to 27.
Ever since his Test debut against West Indies in 2013, Shami’s showing in international cricket has been more or less good. When he first came into the ranks he was quite quick, but of late he hasn't lived up to his image completely.
His comeback fits well into India's scheme of things as he looks to hit tight areas on a consistent basis in any of the formats. The pacer has played 12 Tests so far and has picked up 47 wickets at an average of 36.14. In 47 ODIs, he has 87 wickets to his name at 24.89.
If he intends to pose any threat against the South Africans in the upcoming series, he needs to be completely fit, and bowl from a full run-up instead of a short one to be as effective.
The preparatory camp also includes the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Karun Nair.