“Fit” Shami impresses Kumble

Indian coach Anil Kumble is highly impressed by fast bowler Mohammed Shami , who has returned to Test Cricket last month after a gap of almost 18 months. Shami has troubled the West Indies batsmen with his extra bounce, and has eight wickets after two Tests.

Shami was sidelined for much of 2015 with a knee injury that required a surgery and left him in crutches for more than a month. He made his comeback last month and responded by cutting through the West Indies middle order in the first innings. In the next Test match, he struck twice early on the fourth day before the rain arrived and stalled India’s hunt for a win.

After his return to full fitness, Shami was a key member of the Indian Test side , Kumble said . “I think he feels a lot stronger now 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, he came back…fast bowling is all about rhythm and run up. Now his confidence is back with him.”

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

“He’s an important cog for us. We don’t want to look too far ahead. The workload is something we are aware of. The last Test in Antigua the bowlers bowled back to back, we try and take workload in training sessions with respect to what happened in the match.”