In his absence due to injury, rookie pacers have done considerably well for the Indian team but veteran fast bowler Mohammad Shami remains unperturbed by it.
In fact, Shami, who had sustained an injury on his wrist during the Australia tour, believes that the competition for places in the fast bowling department augurs well for Indian cricket.
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"Your selection depends on your skill, experience and performance. All things are different. If there is healthy competition, it doesn't mean that you lose confidence in yourself," Shami told IANS in an exclusive chat on Thursday (April 1).
"It is not like competition puts pressure or makes someone redundant. Every player's skills-set is different, they are required for different roles in the team. We don't think about ourselves, we have to think about the country. Whoever is the best [for a given situation or match] gets to play and is selected," he added.
"Competition keeps coming and going. How much you play depends on your luck and how your fitness is. You have only one thing in your hand and that is, keep working hard and keep supporting each other [in the team]. That is all you can do," he continued.
Shami had suffered a blow on his wrist from Pat Cummins’ short delivery during India’s second innings debacle at Adelaide in December last year. The injury was so severe that it ruled him out of the remaining Border-Gavaskar Trophy fixtures Down Under.
Subsequently, he returned home for an extensive rehabilitation programme at the NCA and missed the entire home series against England.
Since then, the Indian team handed Test caps to Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini and T Natarajan, while Shardul Thakur also played his second Test during the tour Down Under.
Shami, however, has now recovered from the injury and is looking forward to bowl at full throttle.
"My recovery has been good and I am fine. I was at the NCA, where I completed rehab. For the past one to one-and-a-half months, I did my rehab, practiced there and bowled at full throttle," he said.
"It was unfortunate that I got injured. Everything happens for good and for a reason. For me, it is nothing to worry about. You have to see everything positively. Whatever your skills are, you have to focus on them."
Shami will turn up for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 2021 edition of Indian Premier League, starting April 9.
"I have just got out of quarantine. Practice was going on from earlier. I have just started that with the team. We have 10-12 days (Punjab play the first game against Rajasthan Royals on April 12) left. We will have a few sessions," he said.
The fast bowler further stated that the period away from competitive cricket was spent working on the basics.
"I always work on my basics, whatever the tournament or series. I see what condition I have played in. It is not like that I have to play with pressure or develop something new [when coming back from a break to keep myself relevant]. Whatever is my stock, I work on that," he remarked.
