Mohammed Shami’s progress on the road to recovery continued with the fast bowler taking full part in training at India’s preparatory camp for the South Africa series here on Thursday. Shami bowled off his usual run-up, albeit not at full tilt, spending close to an hour in the outdoor nets at the National Cricket Academy here.
The 25-year-old is coming back from a serious knee injury and has been out of action since the end of the World Cup. Shami was not included in the squads for the three T20s or the first three ODIs against South Africa, but the bowler hopes to be fit for the Test matches. He was closely monitored by National selector Roger Binny here, on what was the fourth day of the week-long camp.
Shikhar Dhawan, another player returning from injury, also trained without any apparent discomfort. Dhawan, who broke his right hand in the Galle Test last month, will lead India ‘A’ against Bangladesh ‘A’ in their three-day game beginning here on Sunday.
M.S. Dhoni, who batted in the nets on Wednesday as well, led a group of players into the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium’s main ground, where he unleashed one big hit after another. Ravi Shastri kept a keen eye on proceedings from his perch atop a roller. India’s team director was seen engaged in a long conversation with Dhoni, who last played a competitive game against Bangladesh in June.
“We had a very good conditioning camp for three days,” Ambati Rayudu said later. “Today we started doing our skill work. There are always a few areas the coaches point out and we are trying to work on them.”
Meanwhile, 12 players were released from the 32-man camp on Thursday to enable them to join their respective Ranji Trophy sides. Only those players part of the T20 and ODI sides, plus Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron and Shami, will remain in Bengaluru till Sunday.
