'His positive attitude taught me the importance of patience' - Mohammed Shami seeks inspiration from 'fighter' Rishabh Pant

Star Indian pacer, Mohammed Shami, has been sidelined ever since he suffered from an ankle injury due to a rupture in the left Achilles heel after the 2023 World Cup in which he emerged as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. He has been busy recuperating from his surgery and slowly but gradually easing his way back to the intensive regime he is expected to undergo as a fast bowler.   

On the sidelines of an event in Gurgaon on Monday, the seamer credited wicketkeeper-batter, Rishabh Pant, for his unwavering grit in wanting to make it back in the mix after having been involved in a near-death accident and remarked that he was his source of inspiration.

“I had spent time with Rishabh at the National Cricket Academy, where he was doing the rehab after his injury. I have seen the images, which were so scary. What inspired me the most is that I never saw him sad. All his ligaments were broken but he continued his rehab with a laugh on his face. It was a massive learning for me as well. His positive attitude taught me the importance of patience,” stated Shami, as quoted by The Indian Express.

Also Check: Watch: Mohammed Shami bowls in nets after Bengaluru Test 

Shami spoke on the bowling session he was involved in with assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar, post the completion of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru.  

"It felt great yesterday. Before that, I had been bowling with a half-run-up because I didn’t want to put too much load on my body. We decided yesterday that I would bowl at full intensity for the last two sessions and I gave my 100%. It felt good, the results were encouraging. Hopefully, I’ll be back on track soon,” mentioned Shami.

Shami also shed light on the primary objectives he would want to emphasize to get fully prepared for the tour Down Under and laid down his intentions post him getting approval from his medical consultants. It seemed as if he was gunning to be on the field and get back to bowling as soon as possible.

“I know everyone has been thinking about whether I will go to Australia or not, but that series is far away. The only thing I want to focus on is how to keep myself fit and get as strong as I can for the tour. I know what kind of an attack we want for that Test series, so it’s better for me to work on the nuances and spend some more time on the ground before going. If I get fit and I get a gap of eight to ten days, then I should play one or two domestic matches before going to Australia. I don’t know when I can play next but the day I feel comfortable about bowling 20-30 overs and I get the nod from the doctors, I’ll make a run to play a match. I want to spend as much time as I can on the ground before going for the Australia series," said Shami.

We just need to put some runs on the board and our bowlers can do the job: Shami

Shami spoke on India's prospects in the impending Border-Gavaskar Trophy and attributed the win majorly to the pace-battery of their side.

“We can still win. We enjoy the bounce. We won because we had four different fast bowlers. We just need to put some runs on the board and our bowlers can do the job. We have worked as a unit since 2014. India never had three bowlers at a time who could bowl over 140 kph. Maybe two at max. Now, we even have some on the bench who can bowl 145 kph,” mentioned Shami.

“Every opponent waits for one easy kind of bowler, but that’s how you create fear that all our bowlers are 145 kph and have different kind of skills. And we showed how to fight when we toured overseas. Earlier, we used to be on the safe side, or our pace attack wasn’t that aggressive. Abhi eet ka jawaab patthar se dete hai (now we know how to fight fire with fire),” added Shami.

Also Check: Sheffield Shield 2024-25: Mitchell Starc shows glimpses of class ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Shami's previous red-ball game was the 2023 final of the World Test Championship. He would be hoping to make a comeback in Bengal's next Ranji Trophy game against Kerala.