The resurgence of Mohammed Shami is unique in more ways than one

If we witness sharp carves in the career of a cricketer, 9 out of 10 times it has to be a fast bowler's. Since they take up the most demanding task involved in the sport, it is no surprise that it is a fast bowler that suffers the most, both physically and mentally.

Modern-day cricket is as hectic as it has ever been, and the heat is only going to pile up in the years to come. That is the reason we often see fast bowlers missing out on international cricket for a substantial part of their career. Some of them fight it out to become heroes, while others are unfortunate to succumb to the circumstances.

In that context, it has been remarkable to witness the resurrection of one of the mainstays of Indian cricket, Mohammed Shami.

It was January 2013, and Shami had been introduced to the world against Pakistan in Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. Accompanying Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami bowled one of the most economical spells for an ODI debutant, which included a record-breaking 4 maidens, to create the pressure from his end. That ultimately helped India defend a meagre total of 167; Shami ended up with figures of 9-4-23-1.

The right-arm pacer slowly established himself across all formats of the game, and even picked up a 5-wicket haul on his Test debut. He became a regular member of the team, whether at home or overseas, and therefore the burden on his shoulders increased exponentially.

Shami worked like a horse and saw great success in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, finishing his journey as the second highest wicket-taker for the Men in Blue. But with all the workload from the past, the unfortunate but inevitable happened and Shami suffered a knee injury. Later, it was disclosed that his knees had started to buckle down midway through the mega event, and that he had played a major part of it with immense pain in his left knee.

Shami underwent surgery and was away from cricket for over 6 months.

When he gained full fitness, he was in and out of the team due to his form and hamstring injuries, and he even a failed yo-yo test. Shami mostly played as backup for rested regular members, and failed to make the most of his limited opportunities. His responsibility was to pick wickets without worrying much about the run rate, but he failed to do that on most occasions.

Although Shami eventually managed to re-establish himself back in red ball cricket, his white ball future looked bleak with the entry of Jasprit Bumrah and an improved Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The fans lost hope in him, but it was his persistence that prevailed in the end.

The 28-year-old saw a transformation in his career in the year 2018, through impressive performances in the South Africa, England and Australia Tests. And just when he looked out of the scheme of things for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, he was once again recalled by the selectors in white-ball cricket, perhaps in search of a third seamer.

Not a single person from cricket fraternity would've had Shami in their thoughts for making it to the supreme event. But since gaining back the blue jersey, Shami has turned the tables on their head.

After going wicketless in the first ODI Down Under, he scalped 5 wickets in the remaining two. Against New Zealand in the recently concluded series, he ripped apart the Kiwi top-order on a consistent basis, picking up 9 wickets from 4 games that handed him two 'man of the match' awards and eventually the 'man of the series' award.

Shami crossed the tally of 100 ODI wickets in the process, and became the quickest to do so among Indian seamers.

After being sidelined for years, Shami has not only reserved his spot to England, but also made the well-established Bhuvneshwar nervous about a place in the final XI.

India have suffered a lot with injuries to their fast bowlers in the past, like Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh to name a few. But no one came back as strong and fit as Mohammed Shami has.