Mohammed Shami plays at full speed on the sidelines of the Bharat-NZ Check in Bengaluru

The 34-year-old fast bowler had bulky straps on his left knee but bowled with full inclination towards Bharat staff coach Abhishek Nayar, with bowling coach Morne Morkel looking on during the consultation. He showed no revealed discomfort, bowling almost incessantly and only taking one attempt for the fielding drill as the limit.

Shami started his workout around 2:30 pm and after a few warm-up deliveries, he clocked his full run and maintained it for the rest of his practice. Once Nayar finished batting, Morkel placed cones on the pitch and stood behind the wickets while Shami persisted in running and bowling. It ended around 3:50 p.m.

Shami also bowled late in the game in time two, in one of the most followed pitches in the distant end of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He bowled for about 45 minutes at that time, with a cut and a long run.

Bharat is awaiting the progress of Shami’s health on his five-check tour of Australia starting in November. His previous appearance was the 2023 ODI International Cup final in November last year, and he had played that tournament with an ankle injury, taking 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.70.

“He hasn’t played cricket for more than a year,” Rohit said. “It’s quite difficult for a fast bowler to have missed so much cricket and then suddenly come out and be at his best. It’s not ideal. We’ll want to give him enough time to recover and be 100% fit.

“We don’t need to send an undercooked Shami to Australia. That doesn’t seem like the right solution for us.”