India pacer Mohammed Shami has revealed that the doctor told him 'cricket is still a distant goal' when he started his rehab following the surgery for the injury suffered during the ODI World Cup 2023. Shami last played in international cricket in the ODI WC final in November 2023 at home before making a comeback in January last month against England in T20Is.

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"I always wondered when I would be able to put my feet on the ground again, as someone who is used to running on the field constantly was now in crutches," Shami told in a video shared by BCCI. 

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"A lot of thoughts used to run through my mind. Will I be able to do it again? Will I be able to walk without a limp? For the first two months, I often doubted whether I would be able to play again as an injury like this followed by a 14-month break can pull you down.

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"My first question to the doctor was 'how many days until I can be back on the field'. He said, 'my priority is to get you to walk, then jog, and then run and thinking about playing competitive cricket is still a distant goal'," added the pacer.

Shami key for India at Champions Trophy

The 34-year-old pacer is going to be the key for India at the Champions Trophy, especially when premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah is not part of the squad. Shami will have to act as the leader of the pace group which has Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana - both young - as other fast bowlers. 

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Apart from these three, Hardik Pandya is also in the squad as a medium-pace all-rounder. India, however, have gone spin-heavy in the tournament with five options in the squad.

Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar are three spin all-rounders in the squad, while Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy are two specialist spinners.