Former India bowling coach Bharat Arun has recalled his conversation with Mohammad Shami when the star Indian pacer wanted to quit playing cricket in 2018.

Shami wanted to step away from cricket after failing to clear the fitness test. Moreover, he was going through a personal turmoil as his relations with estranged wife Hasin Jahan broke down.

Shami failed a yo-yo test ahead of India's tour of England in 2018. He was well aware that failing the test would jeopardize his chances in upcoming international matches.

Arun revealed that Shami's conversation with then head coach Ravi Shastri helped him make a roaring comeback in cricket.

"When Shami was going through trauma and a crisis in his personal life, Ravi (Shastri) spoke to him and told him, ‘Any support you need, please feel free to ask,’" Arun said in the latest episode of Bombay Sport Exchange.

"And in 2018, just before the tour of England, we had a match against Afghanistan (Test match in Bengaluru). Shami failed the fitness test and he was dropped from the team.

"He was very dejected. He was at the peak of his personal problems as well. So he came to my room and said, 'Paaji, mai cricket chor doonga' (I will quit cricket).

"So I asked him, 'What are you going to do after quitting cricket? Whatever you are and whatever you have achieved is because of cricket.' He said he was angry. I took him to Ravi.

"Ravi said, 'If you are angry and you have the ball in your hand, show your anger with the ball. You want to quit cricket because your body is not fit?'

Indian coaching staff then sent Shami to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for a month to work on his comeback. The plan worked out well as he was able to restart his career within a short period of time.

"We sent him to the NCA and the only instruction was to work on him physically, no bowling. Three weeks after we sent him to the NCA, he called me and said: 'Paaji, mai toh abhi ghode ki tarah bhaag raha hoon' (I am running like a horse).

"That is how Mohammad Shami regained his confidence and he played those five Test matches in England. In the fifth Test match, after tea time on the last day, he bowled a spell at 140 kmph — that was his fitness level. It was amazing."

Shami made a rousing comeback that year, playing all five Tests against England and taking 16 wickets. He was also instrumental in India's historic series win in Australia a few months later.