Champions Trophy 2025: Knees strapped, can Mohammed Shami fire for India in Champions Trophy?

Images don't lie. Mohammed Shami bowling at the nets at the ICC training centre in Dubai on Sunday with both his knees strapped is not a great sight.

Anyone who says wearing protective stuff is correct for an athlete does not know enough about strength conditioning, fitness and being in prime shape. For those who feel Shami was good in the ODI series against England recently, that is a myth. He looked rusty. And he also did go for runs.

This time, in desert duels in the Champions Trophy, beginning with the first match against Bangladesh, Shami will face his moment of truth. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Shami has to lead as the frontline fast bowler. His speed dropped long ago, but he has a speedy PR lobby working for him, led by the Kolkata gang. They see in Shami traits of being a match-winner. To be sure, the Shami of ICC 2023 World Cup and today are different.

They are like impostors, actually. The road to recovery has not been a bed of roses but pricked by thorns. Shami recovered from the Achilles Heel surgery and his rehab was prolonged. For all the drama enacted of him bowling 'full steam' at nets and it being captured, that was optics all along. When Shami was being portrayed as a 'must candidate' to fly out to Australia for the BGT Series, he was not even fit. He had a left knee swelling. And when Rohit Sharma called it out, he was hauled over coals. Rohit was honest. Period.

Shami bowled at nets in Dubai on Sunday. He is going to be the super star is the calculation. All this is because Bumrah is in Bengaluru undergoing rehab, strength and fitness conditioning. Till the last minute, people thought injured Bumrah would fly out. Damn, his back injury is serious. The worst fear now is if Shami is also a case of suspect fitness. On the sand-based soil ground in Dubai, it looks green on top, but the base is hard. However much one tries to produce best wickets, it can be hard for the fast bowlers. This time, Shami is not there as support cast. He is the main guy, like a lead actor in a Bollywood movie, with the support cast comprising Arshdeep, Hardik Pandya and the spinners.

The temptation may be to play more spinners but Shami knows all eyes will be on him. He has to step up, and bowl the quota of 10 overs. If he gets hit, that will be bad. Hardik Pandya is a good team man and will fill in well. For strange reasons, Arshdeep has been portrayed more as a T20 bowler. To top it, coach Gautam Gambhir is whimsical. He may go with Shami straight up as the lead bowler. The batting is not a worry, lack of a quality fast bowler is. A fast bowler or a swing bowler can lose rhythm if he gets smashed for a few runs. That is the fear with Shami, as he bowls with knees strapped.

It is tempting to say, he is not a 100 per cent fit, based on evidence. If Shami can prove all wrong, that will be great fir Team India. After all, the hype is, India are favourites to win the Champions Trophy. Agree?