India paceman Mohammed Shami, whose knee injury has kept him out of action since the middle of the IPL season this year, wants to play for India against South Africa in the series comprising three T20Is, five ODIs and four Test matches that starts in October in India.
The crippling injury left him bed-ridden but the 25-year-old gritty pacer says it will take about a month for him to regain his rhythm.
"It will take about 30 to 45 more days before I can bowl at my full pace and strength. But I don't want to hurry into anything because I still have time on my hand before the South Africa series starts. I am confident that I will be fit in time for that series. My target is to make a comeback in that series," he told BCCI.tv on Saturday.
Recalling the agonising days, he said: "We came back from the World Cup and during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015, I was told that the injury was really bad and I will have to get it operated. The surgery happened in Mumbai and I was told I will not be able to walk for a month. I was completely bed-ridden. Even when I had to go to the bathroom, someone had to take me there because I couldn't put the foot on the ground. That was a very tough time for me," said Shami.
Shami is currently going through his rehabilitation in Chennai.
"Currently I am going through my rehab in Chennai. I am working with Sud (VP Sudarsan, Team India's former strength and conditioning coach) and Yogesh Parmar (Team India's former physiotherapist). It is an advantage for me to have these guys because they have worked with me before and they know my body well. They know how much stress my body can take and what my strength capacity is.
"I have also started to bowl a bit — not off my full run-up but from a couple of paces. Just to get that feel of delivering the cricket ball again, rolling my arm, feels good. I am bowling two-three overs at a stretch currently just to get the feel of my line, length and release," said Shami.
