Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has revealed that he played the entire 2015 World Cup with a broken knee and struggled to walk after every match in Australia.
Despite the injury, Shami took 17 wickets in the tournament and was the second-highest wicket-taker for India behind Umesh Yadav who played a game more.
“I had a knee injury during the 2015 World Cup. I couldn’t walk after the matches I played throughout the tournament with the injury. I played the 2015 World Cup because of the confidence Nitin Patel (team physio) had in me,” Shami told Irfan Pathan during an Instagram live chat.
“The knee broke in the first match itself. My thighs and knees were the same size, the doctors used to take out fluid from them everyday. I used to take three painkillers,” he added.
Shami felt the faith shown by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the team management helped him play through the pain especially during the semi-final against Australia.
“Before the semi-final match against Australia, I told the team that I cannot take any more pain. Mahi bhai and the management showed faith in me and they really kept confidence in my abilities,” he said.
“I played the match and gave just 13 runs in my opening spell. Then I went off the park and told Mahi bhai that I cannot bowl any longer. But he told me he cannot go to part-time bowlers and asked me to not give away more than 60 runs. I have never been in such a condition like this, some had said my career is over, but I am still here,” he added.
After being asked to pick his favourite format of the game, Shami leaned towards five-day cricket.
“For entertainment purpose, I would like to choose T20 format but I would like to play Test cricket for the intensity of the game,” he told Pathan.