Indian fans had hardly any reason to celebrate as their team was torn apart by New Zealand’s pace bowling attack in the first innings in Bangalore. There was not much to smile about as India were bowled out for 46, their lowest ever total on home turf.

However, even this dark cloud had a silver lining for Indian fans. After several months missing from action following knee surgery and other injuries, Mohammed Shami was spotted bowling in the nets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after stumps on day two.

As per a RevSportz report, Shami has been approaching his top speed and increased intensity at the NCA, where he has been rehabbing following his series of injuries.

Pictures captured Shami bowling in the nets in the Bangalore stadium, with the NCA also situated in the city. As per the report, Shami’s knee was bandaged and strapped. He started at a slower pace with a shorter run-up, but worked his way up to approaching full tilt.

Shami was accompanied by senior figures within the NCA hierarchy, including Troy Cooley, the lead bowling coach at the academy, as well as Nitin Patel, who is the head of sports science and medicine.

Shami's impending return still with some questions

Rohit Sharma spoke earlier in the week about the likelihood of Shami returning in time for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but mentioned that additional inflammation in his knee made that an uncertainty. Shami had been struck on the arm during the Adelaide Test match in 2020, which ruled him out of the rest of that famous series.

Shami hasn’t seen competitive action for nearly a year, with his final action being in a losing cause in the World Cup final in 2023 against Australia. His last Test match was also a loss to Australia, in the World Test Championships final held at the Oval last year.

While India will be looking forward to the return of Shami, given his form before he was struck by injury, the blooding of Akash Deep as a potential replacement also provides a positive sign for India.

India will be relying on Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep in this Test season, with the likes of Mayank Yadav also being in consideration for the rotation of pacers. Nevertheless, the additional quality and experience of Shami will be something that creates a lot of excitement given his imminent return.

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