India Practice Session At Eden Gardens
During the tough three-hour practice session, Team India focused on experienced bowler Mohammed Shami in preparation for their white-ball series opener against England.
Shami showed encouraging signals upon returning to the national team after a 14-month injury layoff, bowling at full capacity for more than an hour.
Under bowling coach Morne Morkel’s cautious eye, Shami started with a slow warm-up while wearing heavy strapping on his left knee.
Before taking part in a cautious fielding drill to assess his knee, he bowled for over an hour after first jogging in with small steps.
The experienced bowler reversed the clock with a lengthy run-up and his signature aggressive spells, bowling to young players like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma in the nets just as questions were beginning to arise about his complete readiness. With every delivery, Shami’s rhythm got better as he extracted movement and bounce, repeatedly tormenting the batters.
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But youthful batsman-wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel was able to challenge Shami with some forceful blows, giving the veteran a tough test.
Shami bowled at full speed for about forty-five minutes without the help of the team’s strength and conditioning coach or physiotherapist, even though it was a demanding practice.
Shami wasn’t finished after the nets.
He proceeded to the nearby length-bowling practice area and had a thorough conversation with Morkel.
The two worked carefully on hitting particular distances, with Shami demonstrating precise precision by repeatedly hitting the drill’s two set-up stumps.
After that, he joined Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana for additional practice, sharing knowledge as they went.
Shami just looked a little uneasy when he hobbled back to the changing room, but he was soon back on the ground, interacting with his former Bengal colleagues warily while juggling his tightly bandaged left knee.
In the five-match Test series against Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Shami was considered a late addition to Team India, but he was left off the roster, sparking controversy.
The team is trying to strengthen its pace attack in preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy, which will start in Dubai and Pakistan on February 19, thus Shami’s participation in the T20I squad is a big step forward.
Jasprit Bumrah’s injury cloud means that Shami’s fitness is essential to India’s ambitions.
The significance of Shami’s presence in the Champions Trophy team announcement in Mumbai on Saturday has been emphasized by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.
“In any case, I don’t believe his level of fitness has anything to do with white-ball cricket. When unveiling the Champions Trophy 2025 roster at the press conference, Agarkar stated, “We were trying to get him to Australia.”
“Sadly, he was unable to play four-day or five-day cricket due to his knee. I believe he has participated in the majority of Syed Mushtaq Ali’s and some of Vijay Hazare’s white-ball matches.
“Shami’s quality and experience are invaluable, especially in light of the uncertainty surrounding Jassi (Bumrah) and whether he is healthy and playing frequently.
“That’s the exact reason we got him interested in T20is. to encourage him to play under pressure and return to international cricket.
“The match will be intense despite being T20I cricket. He is a quality person. He would always participate in the conversation if he was healthy. We’re hoping he wins these matches and is fully recovered by the time the Champions Trophy arrives,” Agarkar stated.
Shami has been using domestic cricket to gradually regain his form. With a match total of seven wickets, he led Bengal to a season-opening victory in November of last year, marking his Ranji Trophy comeback.
He subsequently played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-dayers, where he took five wickets in three games at an average of 25.80, and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20s, where he took 11 wickets in nine games at an average of 25.36.
The lone player from the 15-man roster who missed the practice session for personal reasons was left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. Later on Saturday, he is anticipated to join the team.
“Arshdeep has joined the team tonight. A club spokesman verified, “The rest of the squad was there.”
However, the England team, captained by Jos Buttler, decided to take Sunday off. Monday is the date of their first practice.
