KUMBLE PRAISES SHAMI ON HIS RETURN

India Head coach Anil Kumble praises Mohammed Shami on his return

Shami returned to the Test squad after a span of one and a half year. He troubled the Caribbeans with his extra bounce, picked 8 wickets after 2 Tests at 24.62.

The fast-bowler was made to sit outside the ground for much of 2015 due to a knee-injury which made him to use crutches for more than a month. He made his return in  Antigua Test on July, 2016. The player heavily responded in the ongoing series of Tests against West Indies. 

“I’m really happy for Shami. Coming back after 18 months is not easy. The way he has come back and bowled aggressively, yesterday I thought he bowled the best spell that I have seen, a fast bowler running in and right through the Test. Even today in the last session he was running and bowling at 140. That says a lot about his fitness and his motivation to come back as well.”

 “I think he feels a lot stronger now and his rhythm has been good. The problem was with his knee which was affecting his run up. Once that was sorted and he was fit and came back… fast bowling is all about rhythm and the run up. Once he got the rhythm I think the confidence came back. We’ve seen from the start of the Antigua Test to now, his confidence is far greater. That’s because he has a lot of overs under his belt.” added Kumble.