Mohammed Shami picked up his first wicket on Thursday after making his comeback to competitive cricket during the second day of the round five fixture of the Ranji Trophy between Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. (Ranji Trophy Blog | More Cricket News)
Shami got the wicket of MP skipper Shubham Sharma, by disturbing his stumps for eight runs. The India international had gone wicketless on the first day, bowling mere 10 overs, including one maiden and giving away 34 runs.
Shami wasn't included to squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia starting from November 22 in Perth.
During the 1st India vs New Zealand Test, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma had said that they weren't keen to include Shami in the squad despite the latter regaining fitness.
"To be honest, it is difficult to make a call on him for the Australia series. He had a setback and had swelling in his knees. That put him back a little bit and had to start again. He's at the NCA with doctors and physios. We don't want to bring undercooked Shami to Australia. We are keeping our fingers crossed," Rohit had said.
"He was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100 per cent, he had swelling in his knee, that put him back a little bit in his recovery. So, he had to start again. Right now, he's at NCA, he's working with the physios and the doctors at NCA," he added.
Rohit even said that the team management wanted Shami to regain full fitness before returning to the national team.
"We are keeping our fingers crossed, we want him to be 100 per cent fit. We don't want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia, that is not going to be the right decision for us.
"It is quite tough for a fast bowler, having missed so much of cricket, and then suddenly to come out and be at his best, it is not ideal," he noted.
