India pacer Mohammed Shami underwent surgery for his ankle injury in London on Monday. He has been away from action ever since India lost the World Cup final against Australia in November 2023. Shami himself posted a picture after the surgery was done and expressed hope to resume his cricketing journey soon.
“Looking forward to getting back on my feet,” Shami’s social media post read sharing an update on his injury. The surgery has all but ruled him out of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that will be played from March 22 to May 26. Meanwhile, he is also doubtful for the T20 World Cup in June which is scheduled to take place in the West Indies and the USA.
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The injury comes as a massive blow for Gujarat Titans who won IPL 2022 and were the finalists in the last edition. This time around, they already have a new captain in Shubman Gill with Hardik Pandya getting traded to Mumbai Indians in an all-cash deal. Along with it, Shami getting ruled out of the tournament, their stocks have suddenly gone down.
Shami had won the purple cap in IPL 2023 picking up a massive 28 wickets in 17 matches with the best bowling figures of 4/11. Moreover, he played a crucial role in the World Cup for India last year too finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets in just seven matches at an average of 10.7 and a strike-rate of 12.20.
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Coming back to his injury, the cricketer played the World Cup taking injections whenever he suffered pain in his ankle but stayed away from action after the mega event. However, he was confident of recovering in time for the five-match Test series against England. But as soon as he checked in to the National Cricket Academy (NCA), the possibility was ruled out.
Before that, Mohammed Shami was also included in India’s squad for the Test series against South Africa away from home. But all his comeback plans were spoiled and now he is set to be away from the sport for a longer time. While it is still not confirmed if he was in the plans, Shami is also unlikely to be fit for the World Cup.
In his absence, India’s bowling attack has witnessed a new addition in Akash Deep who made his debut in Ranchi. Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar has also played a few Tests even as Shami is yet to feature in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle that got underway for India in July last year in the West Indies.
Mohammed Shami played his last Test was the WTC Final that India lost to Australia at the Oval in June 2023. With not many ODIs to be played in the near future, Shami’s aim now will be to get fit for the home Test against New Zealand and the subsequent Australia tour where India will play five Tests for the first time.
