Mohammed Shami praises Bharat Arun, eyes strong return from injury

Nine months after ensuring India reached the World Cup semi-final, Mohammed Shami is back in the Indian squad and will be looking to repeat his heroics from the World Cup in the upcoming tour of Australia.

Shami, who took 17 wickets at an average of 17.29 during India’s eight-game winning spree in the World Cup in Australia, makes his international return after coming from an operation for his swollen knee.

The 25-year-old said: “That I’m returning to international cricket in Australia is somewhat an advantage, for we were there for close to four-and-a-half months earlier this year and I’ve an idea about the conditions. It will help as far as confidence is concerned.”

Shami also wants to put to rest the murmurs that he hasn’t had enough match practice before the tour to Australia, where India will play 5 ODIs and three T20Is.

The Bengal fast bowler added: ”It was my first big injury and I had to undergo a seven-month rehab. After that when I played the Vijay Hazare Trophy, there was a little bit of tightness. After playing two-three matches, it now feels a lot better. Now I’m bowling full tilt.”

Coming back to the field after such a long time means Shami has to play catch-up. The 25-year-old agrees to a length and said: “I won’t say I’ve to start it all over again, but the challenge would be to get back the World Cup rhythm. It’s not easy when you’re out for eight-nine months.”

Shami’s advancement as a bowler has concurred with Bharat Arun taking charge as India’s bowling coach. In England last year, Shami had looked totally out of rhythm picking up only five wickets at an average of 73.20 in three Test matches.

But after Arun took over, Shami has been a man transformed. He took eight wickets at 19.00 in four matches in the ODI series that India won comfortably. As India went to Australia, he was a completely transformed machinist.

The pacer said: “I won’t say I had been facing problems with my run-up in England. We play continuous cricket and there has to be ups and downs. When you’re doing well your shortcomings get overlooked.

“But when you’re not doing well, you’re under the scanner. Technically, I didn’t make any massive change for the Australia tour and World Cup. Only that I cut short my run-up a bit. And I felt a lot more comfortable.”

I can communicate with Arun freely: Shami

However, he acknowledges Arun’s role in his development and said “The biggest advantage of having Bharat Arun as our bowling coach is that he’s an Indian and we can communicate freely. The level of understanding is better.

“It helps when a coach can communicate freely with his players. You can go into details and discuss finer points. Bharat Arun always backs the bowlers. He always gives us confidence, which is most important.”

According to Shami, his bowling partners help him stay relaxed and calm. A gang of four genuine fast bowlers — Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Shami — is something that has never existed in Indian cricket before.

Commenting on the matter, Shami said: “This is a great thing. We back each other. Also, there’s a healthy competition between us. But most importantly, we enjoy each other’s company. There’s a sense of togetherness.

“When I was first picked to play for India, I was a bit overawed. I was not sure how a newcomer would be treated in the dressing room. But the dressing room atmosphere made me feel comfortable. My bowling partners played a big role in that.

“They all are fun-loving guys and overall this is a very complete bowling group that offers everything – pace, swing, variety. The whole unit is the leader because we complement each other. If you ask me to choose one word to describe the chemistry, I would say mast.”