TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: “Mehnat meri hai, dua aap logo ki and dene waala upar hai… “
With ball still in hand when he sat down for one of the most heart-warming media interactions, Mohammed Shami would have certainly felt lighter. The load was finally off the knees and ankle which endured a lot of pain in the last few months when he was undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. There were self-doubts, questions, complications but not once did he give up on making a comeback into the Indian team. It surely wasn’t easy but the 34-year-old showed on Thursday that there’s still enough gas in the tank.
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When the arms went up after he completed the fifer and the flying kiss followed, not just the Indian cricket team but the entire nation applauded the emphatic return of Shami. The stage was big and nobody does it better than Shami when the stakes are high. He turns into a different beast at ICC tournaments and his 60 wickets in just 19 innings is a testament to that. He is now the most successful Indian bowler in white-ball ICC tournaments and the second best on the list is Zaheer Khan who took 13 more innings to get his 59 scalps.

Shami wasn’t aware of the staggering numbers and he downplayed them like Rohit Sharma did at the pre-match presser when he said it’s not about the wickets and they just wanted Shami back in Indian colours. For Shami, though, it has always been about lotaly. Whether it’s during the rehab at NCA or during an international fixture.
“I just try to complete my skill with utmost loyalty. Like I have completed my 14 months – How loyal are you to that skill? How hungry are you to achieve your goal, that the form that you had left and come, how you will achieve it again. How you will get that rhythm again. You should be hungry. I always try to do this. Even if it takes me a little longer, I used to spend eight hours at the NCA (National Cricket Academy).
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“So, my attempt was that – even if you are increasing your days by 30%, 40%, 10%, But with loyalty, is your area good? Is your rhythm good? Do you have any discomfort? I pay attention to those things. I don’t pay attention to the result. I pay attention to the present. And I always try to meet the situation that is in demand. Am I good at that or not?,” says Shami at the post-match presser.
“Mehnat” remained the oft repeated word and was repeated multiple times during the interaction where he travelled back in time recalling his days on crutches, at the NCA, playing domestic cricket for Bengal and watching the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on TV.
“I wish I was there. I could have contributed something. So, you always miss them. Because when you are injured, you can’t do anything but watch the match. And you watch it ball by ball. At that time, you feel that you could have contributed something. You could have helped. So, I missed it many times,” he recalls the helpless days.
There was a lot of will-he-won’t-he when Shami was grinding it out in the domestic circuit under the close watch of the NCA medical team led by Dr Nitin Patel. The specialists would even accompany him for matches to keep a close eye on how his body is reacting to the gradual increase in workload. When the crucial boxes were ticked, the international return happened and the support of the management eased him back into the setup.

“Whether it’s a question of the captain or the coach, it’s very important for every player to have this support. Because when you plan for such a big tournament, if you have players who trust you, it gives you peace of mind for the captain and the team. I always try to do my best. The one who gives is sitting on top, so he will give as much as he is destined to,” he says on the support of the management.

Just when he was leaving the area, Shami, still fiddling with the white ball, had a plea.
“Dua karte rehna bhai log… (keep praying for us),” he says before walking back to the change room.