West Indies vs India 2016: Anil Kumble to keep close eye on Mohammad Shami's workload
Team India head coach Anil Kumble expressed his delight at how well fast bowler Mohammad Shami has been bowling since making his return to international cricket during the ongoing Test series against the West Indies after spending more than a year on the sidelines with a serious knee injury. The Indian bowling legend wants to make sure that the workload between the fast bowlers in the side is managed well to avoid a repeat of such a situation.
Having picked up eight wickets from the two matches so far, Shami has already assured himself of being a regular starter for some time now but what has impressed Kumble the most is the ease with which the Bengal fast bowler has managed to remain focused on his line and length despite his lengthy injury-enforced lay-off.
"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 seen, a fast bowler running in and right through the Test. Even today in the last session he was running and bowling at 140. That says a lot about his fitness and his motivation to come back as well."
Kumble, in fact, feels that Shami has been even more impressive since his return from injury as he is bowling with any worry over the niggling injuries through which he tried to play on before being forced to sort out the troubled knee.
"I think he feels a lot stronger now and 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 and came back... fast bowling is all about rhythm and the run-up. Once he got the rhythm I think the confidence came back.
“We've seen from the start of the Antigua Test to now, his confidence is far greater. That's because he has a lot of overs under his belt."
Kumble admitted that Shami was a very vital member of the Indian Test side and that it was imperative to manage the workload of fast bowlers to ensure that nobody suffers from fatigue or burnout or eve worse, run the risk of injuries.
"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,” Kumble said.