Mohammed Shami gears up for England T20Is in first training session

Mohammed Shami took part in India's first training session ahead of their T20I series against England, which begins on January 22, 2025, in Kolkata. The experienced pacer was seen with his knee strapped but still bowled with intensity towards the end of his session.  

Shami, who has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, was kept out of the Border-Gavaskar Test series due to knee swelling, even though he had fully recovered from his ankle surgery. On Sunday, Shami worked with bowling coach Morne Morkel, marking a spot on the practice pitch and starting with a half run-up. He spent over 20 minutes warming up before bowling with his full run-up to openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.  

The 34-year-old bowler also practiced catching with fielding coach T Dilip and head coach Gautam Gambhir. After the net sessions, Shami ended his training with a ten-minute spell of fast bowling, where he was nearly at full speed.  

Shami's fitness has been a concern for India for over a year, but his inclusion in the squad for the T20Is and ODIs against England will test his readiness for the upcoming Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19, 2025, in Karachi. India’s opening match is against Bangladesh the following day in Dubai.  

Shami is expected to lead India's seam attack in the five T20Is and three ODIs against England. Jasprit Bumrah, who is recovering from injury, is likely to return and test his fitness during the third ODI on February 12, 2025.  

In Sunday’s training, Shami was one of only two fast bowlers present, alongside Harshit Rana. Arshdeep Singh did not participate in the session. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya worked on his batting and bowling, doing power-hitting drills with Rinku Singh and Dhruv Jurel. Rinku and Tilak Varma faced spin bowlers like Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Washington Sundar, with new batting coach Sitanshu Kotak overseeing their progress.