India's premier pacer Mohammed Shami on November 29 was in discomfort holding his lower back during Bengal's clash against Madhya Pradesh in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024. Shami got up and completed his over but the incident raised concerns over his fitness, a few weeks after his return to competitive cricket.
He received medical attention from Nitin Patel who is a part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Centre of Excellence's medial panel. After initial checkups, he was cleared of any serious injuries.
On November 30, Shami shared a photo of his legs while working out in the gym.
"Strong legs, strong mind, strong body. ,,," Shami wrote in the caption.
Shami in SMAT so far
The 34-year-old conceded 38 runs from four overs. Madhya Pradesh won the game by six wickets with two balls to spare chasing a target of 190. In the previous game against Mizoram, he remained wicketless and conceded 46 runs. His best in SMAT 2024 so far came against Hyderabad where he bagged three wickets for 21 runs in Rajkot.
Bengal's next clash is against Meghalaya on December 1 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.
Shami to bowl for SRH
Last week, he was roped in by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 10 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction as Gujarat Titans (GT) opted not to use the Right to Match (RTM) card for him.
Flight to Australia not booked
Earlier, there were signs that Shami may board the flight to Australia after proving match fitness in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 clash against Madhya Pradesh where he took seven wickets and contributed with a 37-run cameo. However, Sports Tak has learnt that Shami will not be rushed to Test cricket, especially when the bowlers have done well in Australia so far.
In the first Test, young duo Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy made their debuts. The proved their worth as India beat Australia by 295 runs at Optus Stadium, Perth to script history and taken 1-0 lead in Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
