Chronic heel issue that troubled Mohd Shami during World Cup also sidelined him in Tests vs SA: report

Mohammed Shami was the 2023 ICC Men's ODI World Cup's most impressive bowler, taking 24 wickets throughout the competition while battling a chronic injury simultaneously.

The right-arm pacer, who missed the first few games, made a lasting impression with his incredible performance.

As per a news agency PTI report, Shami would take injections to relieve him of pain he was allegedly experiencing throughout the World Cup due to his 'left heel issue.'

“Shami has a chronic left heel issue. A lot of people don’t know that he took injections regularly during World Cup and played the entire tournament through pain,” PTI revealed quoting an unnamed former Bengal teammate of Shami.

The same injury has reportedly sidelined Shami from the ongoing Test series vs South Africa.

To give their batting more depth, India started the ODI series with fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur, and Shami missed the first four matches.

However, Shami seized the chance to finish with 24 wickets from just seven matches, including three five-fors, after Hardik Pandya suffered an untimely injury against Bangladesh in Pune.

He has not played any competitive cricket since India's devastating loss on November 19 against Australia.