About three weeks ago, when Mohammed Shami posted back-to-back updates on his Instagram handle, with one of them having the caption: "Ball in hand and obsession in my heart, ready to turn the game," it gave rise to hopes of seeing him back in action soon. The wait was, after all, pretty long. One of India's premier pacers was last seen in the blues in the ODI World Cup final against Australia last year. But big question marks about Shami's comeback were raised when his name didn't feature in any of the four squads announced for the Duleep Trophy.

Except captain Rohit Sharma, star batter Virat Kohli, pacer spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and ace all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, all other prominent Indian cricketers were picked for the prestigious tournament, which the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee believed would act as a precursor to India's home season. It starts with a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, followed by three more against New Zealand.

Shami's presence was expected from the Bangladesh series, which starts from September 19; even Agarkar seemed hopeful about that. “September 19 is the first Test and that was always the goal. I don’t know if that is his timeline for recovery, will have to ask the guys at the NCA about that,” Agarkar had said before India’s departure for the tour of Sri Lanka in July.

But as things stand now, Shami himself doesn't know when he will be back in action. “It’s difficult to say when I will be back,” Shami was quoted as saying during his felicitation ceremony by East Bengal club here earlier this month.

After a record-breaking ODI World Cup that saw him pick up 24 wickets in just seven games at an average of 10.70 and an economy rate of 5.26, Shami underwent surgery in February for an Achilles tendon injury. This injury caused him to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA, which India won after beating South Africa in the final.

Shami eyes Australia series for comeback but before that…

“I am trying hard, but hopefully you will get to see me in Bengal colors before I don the India jersey again. I will come to play two-three matches for Bengal and will come fully prepared for it," Shami said.

Shami’s last Test was the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval last June. And his aim, quite understandably, is to make the cut for the Australia tour that begins in November. “He wants to be on that tour,” Snehashish Ganguly, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president, said in an interaction on Monday. “But he has to play Ranji Trophy to prove himself.”

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