Returning Shami in focus at Eden

Making a comeback after 430 days, all eyes will be on the veteran pacer on Wednesday

- GOMESH S @ Chennai

The last time Mohammed Shami took the new ball for India, more than a billion hopes soared. Shami, unlike the rest of the 2023 ODI World Cup, took the new ball ahead of Mohammed Siraj in the final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium on the night of November 19.

At that time, there was no inclination that Shami would not put on India colours for another 14 months. It has been a long, frustrating lay-off to say the least. In March, he was on track to make a comeback in October for the New Zealand Tests. When India played the first Test in Bengaluru, Shami was training with them on the sidelines with a strapped knee. He sat at the National Cricket Academy and watched India lose a home Test series for the first time since he made his debut.