Mohammad Shami played with injury throughout the World Cup
?Mohammad Shami has revealed in a recent interview that he played throughout the World Cup with his knee injury building continuously. He said that he was in pain, but couldn't do much, as the team found their winning streak with him from initial matches itself.
The Indian pacer who recently had his knee surgery told ESPNcricinfo the injury started during the first Test against Australia in December itself.
"I was landing in the exact same spot as the Australian spinner [Nathan Lyon] did, that landing spot was up and down. It resulted in swelling,” said Shami.
“It kept on getting worse, but in the end it came to a stage during the World Cup where I found the momentum and the team found the momentum, and we didn't want to lose that. When we came back from the World Cup, then we did proper tests and found there was a tear in the knee."
When Shami was asked why didn’t he rest and prevent the damage, he replied saying that his team was struggling and it was difficult to take the decision to rest.
"It was difficult to rest. We were struggling during the triangular series. And World Cup lay ahead. The way we began against Pakistan, we didn't want to lose that momentum. The only chance I got to rest was against UAE, and I took it."
BCCI for the first time mentioned about Shami’s injury when India was already into the World Cup and had found momentum by winning the opening matches. The management clearly ignored his injuries.
The management only mentioned his injury a day before UAE’s match and made it sound like a minor injury by using the word ‘mild’. BCCI’s media release read as follows,” Mohammed Shami has got mild left knee problem and had ultrasound guided injection yesterday for his long-term management perspective. He won't be available for tomorrow's match against the UAE.”
Shami said that India took a match by match approach. He said, “The doctors with us had told me what is happening now had to happen at some point," Shami said.
"So they would see if I could play despite that, if I could work hard despite that, and then they would clear me for the match. And what has happened now would have happened earlier too."
Now, the pacer finds it extremely hard and frustrating to sit at home and watch players play matches on field.
He was well aware that temporary recoveries did not guarantee fitness and the nature of the scans after the third test confirmed that it would result in a long break for him.
"It is very frustrating," he said. "To watch all the players play the IPL and you are sitting at home and watching on TV. That is one of the most difficult things to do for a player. Yet you have to realise that injuries are a fact of a sportsman's life. You have to keep that in mind. It was tough, it is tough, and now I am just waiting to get back on to the field."
But Shami endured all the pain and gave it all he could, and abided by what the management and the team asked of him, purely, for the nation.