Shami starred with the ball in India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh.
The right-arm quick returned with the figures of 5 for 53 in his 10 overs, helping India bundle out the Tigers for 228 in 49.4 overs. Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed were his victims.
During his spell, Shami became the fastest to reach 200 ODI wickets in terms of balls bowled. He also became the highest wicket-taker for India in ICC white-ball tournaments, with an impressive tally of 74 dismissals across ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy.
However, a few months back, things were not as smooth for Shami. The senior pacer sustained an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup final against Australia in November 2023. The injury required a surgery and an extended rehabilitation. As a result, he missed 14 months of international cricket.
After India’s six-wicket victory over Bangladesh, former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu had an interesting chat with Shami regarding his fitness journey.
“How did you lose five-six kg weight?” Sidhu asked Shami in a video shared by Star Sports on social media platform X.
In reply, the Indian fast bowler said: “I have lost nine kg”.
“Are you not having the rice in biryani then?” Sidhu further enquired.
Shami responded by saying: "The most difficult thing is challenging oneself. When you are such a situation (recovering from injury), I was at the NCA and my weight was 90kg. The best part is that I don't crave for tasty food, I don't have sweets. I stay away from a lot of things which one should not have. As far as biryani is concerned, sometimes cheat meal toh chalta hai. To mera yeh chalta hai toh kya dikkat hai. Since 2015, I only have one meal per day. I only do dinner, no breakfast or lunch. It is very difficult but once you get used to it then it's easy."
Mohammad Shami will look to carry his good form into India’s next match against arch-rivals Pakistan, scheduled for Sunday (February 23) in Dubai.