Running barefoot in mud: How Mohammed Shami tested his fitness and overcame self-doubt before making a successful return ahead of Australia Test series | Cricket News

Mohammed Shami’s 58-second video posted the BCCI on X shows just how much India missed him during their recent 0-3 Test series loss against New Zealand. The clip of a 17-ball spell shows the 34-year-old somewhere close to his best. Making his return to competitive cricket after almost a year, Shami picked up four wickets for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy game against Madhya Pradesh in Indore.
The standout feature of Shami’s bowling was his trademark upright seam. His nip-backers were sharp, his outswinger deadly, and he repeatedly beat the outside edge with balls zipping around the fourth and fifth stumps. Three of his victims were lower-order batsmen — Saransh Jain, Kumar Kartikeya and Kulwant Khejroliya — but getting rid of the tail was something India struggled with against New Zealand. With his impeccable wr position — a point of envy for other pacers — Shami has been one of India’s most threatening bowlers over the past decade, even in spinner-friendly conditions at home. From 2013 to 2023, Shami played 21 Tests in India, taking 76 wickets at an impressive average of 22.10.
“I saw his bowling clips and it didn’t feel like he was bowling after one year,” Shami’s childhood coach Mohammed Badruddin told The Indian Express.

Excellent comeback 💥@MdShami11 bowled an impressive spell of 4/54 on his comeback, playing for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh in the #RanjiTrophy match in Indore 👌👌
Watch 📽️ highlights of his spell in the first innings 🔽@IDFCFIRSTBank
Scorecard: https://t.co/54IeDz9fWu pic.twitter.com/sxKktrQJbL
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 14, 2024
“You can’t take the art away from the art. He has waited very patiently for this moment.”
Since picking up an ankle injury during last year’s 50-over World Cup, Shami underwent surgery and was in line for a comeback during the home season. However, earlier this month, he suffered another setback through a swollen knee, which delayed his return.
Shami was not named in India’s 18-member Border Gavaskar Trophy squad, but Badruddin is hopeful that his ward will travel to Australia at some point in the series.
“He will be joining the Indian team after the Adelaide (second) Test. Now that he is back, proved his fitness, picked up wickets, he will be crucial for the team in the second half of the tour,” he said.
This was the last Ranji Trophy game of the first part of the Ranji season, with the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy starting from November 23, before the first-class tournament returns later. Badruddin feels Shami might turn up for Bengal in the domestic T20 competition as well.
“He wants to play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali, but it depends on what the Indian team management wants. He was asked to prove his fitness and in his 19-over spell, he showed that he is not rusty. Shami is a rhythm bowler, the more he bowls, the better he will get. But it all depends on the guidelines he has received from the management,” the coach said.
Shami picked four wickets to help Bengal secure the lead over Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy match on Thursday. (PTI)
Badruddin explains how the Indian speedster overcame his self-doubt after setbacks during rehab.
“He returned quicker after the knee surgery. This time, the rehab took more time because of the age. He did get edgy this time. Got frustrated so many times. He had targeted the New Zealand series. He developed self-doubt that I have never seen before. He was questioning his future. That’s a normal thing when you spend so much time on the sidelines,” he said.
“He (Shami) is very old school. He only wanted to return once he was 100 percent. He is not someone who hides an injury and makes a comeback carrying niggles and gets injured again. He will not return until and unless he is bowling at full tilt.”
Badruddin explained Shami’s desi method of giving himself a green signal after getting the all-clear from the National Cricket Academy. He rushed back to his farmhouse at Alinagar, Sahaspur to test his fitness.
“He runs barefeet in the mud. That’s his technique to test his fitness. That’s the amount of hard work Shami puts in,” he said.
Shami had the air of a man who has endured a lot of misfortune, but he is also someone who knows how to make a comeback in style.

“He has missed one year but now a fully fit Shami can play three more years,” Badruddin predicted.