Mohammad Shami To Return For Champions Trophy 2025? Proves Fitness With VHT Masterclass

By the time India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah injured himself and couldn’t bowl in the second innings of the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), and others were struggling to find a rhythm, most of the fans perhaps were thinking of Mohammad Shami, who still has been trying to prove his match fitness to bowl full quota of overs in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place from February 19.

There hasn’t been a smooth discussion on Mohammad Shami’s fitness status. The Indian pacer’s last international game was more than a year ago, during the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where he finished the event as the leading wicket-taker with 24 scalps in seven innings at an average of 10.70 and a strike rate of 12.20.

The veteran went through surgery on his knee and missed the action for nearly nine months before returning for the fifth and final round game of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. He bowled with full pace and picked up seven wickets in the encounter but was ignored for the trip down under, as Rohit Sharma, the Test captain of India, addressed that the former had picked another injury in the process.

Mohammad Shami knocks on the door of selectors with an untroubled 10-over spell

The hope for the fans now is to get the 34-year-old prepared for the upcoming Champions Trophy. Mohammad Shami was part of three encounters in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 for Bengal. In the first two fixtures, he picked up one wicket each in Hyderabad against Bihar and MP.

Also Read: Mohammed Shami Shares Video Of His Fiery Bowling In Nets, Showing He’s Ready For ICC Champions Trophy

In the knockout encounter of the tournament against Haryana in Vadodara, the Uttar Pradesh-born went through his 10-over spell for the very first time as he picked up three wickets for 61 runs. The story of his spells since his return from injury has been the same. The fast bowler doesn’t look to be in good shape at the start of his spell but finds rhythm afterward.

Winning the toss, the Bengal captain, Sudip Gharami, decided to bowl first on a flat surface. They were able to pick up two successive wickets on the score of 48 and kept the run rate in check with timely wickets throughout the entire innings. Half-centuries from Parth Vats (62) and Nishant Sindhu (64), with an unbeaten 41-run knock in 32 deliveries from Sumit Kumar, propelled Haryana to 298/9 in their allotted 50 overs.

Mohammad Shami found the end of Humansu Rana in the hands of the wicket-keeper, besides dismissing wicket-keeper Dinesh Bana and Anshul Kamboj. Bengal was never in the chase as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and were bundled out for 226 to end their campaign in the event.

Also Read: “Sad Story”- Aakash Chopra Sheds Light On Mohammad Shami’s Potential BGT 2024-25 Return

Mohammad Shami was predicted to be part of the fourth and fifth Test of the BGT, but the BCCI selectors decided to check his fitness as he played all nine games of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024 besides being engaged in additional bowling sessions on the sidelines to build the volume.

India is expected to announce their squad for the England series and the Champions Trophy 2025 in a couple of days, and the Bengal fast bowler could be a part of both. If he goes well in the competition and later in the Indian Premier League (IPL), then it will be a massive advantage if he trips to England for the upcoming five-match Test series, which will be his first red-ball game for India since June 2023.