Key Points

While going for runs is part of T20 cricket, Shami hasn't looked like his usual self this season.

As commentator Aakash Chopra said, "He's not looking good," as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

Shami missed IPL 2024 due to an ankle injury and underwent foot surgery in March 2024. Just a season earlier in 2023, he was in red-hot form and won the Purple Cap with 28 wickets for Gujarat Titans (GT). But this season, the numbers are worrying. Against his former team GT on Friday night, he gave away 48 runs in three overs without taking a wicket. So far, he has just six wickets from nine matches, with a high bowling average of 56.17 and an economy rate of 11.23.

"You've had a big surgery like that, I think psychologically for a start (it gets you down)," Danny Morrison said on ESPNcricinfo's Time Out.

"And then you've got to come back and pace yourself, I just wonder: he is no 29-year-old anymore, is he? So there are all of those things that are stacked against you," he said.

"That's a big question there, no, because it's not like he came back from an injury last week or last month. He started playing domestic cricket last year and this is May already," Aakash Chopra said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"He's played an ICC event (Champions Trophy) in between. He's played a lot of games. If he's still off the boil, and that has something to do with the injury - and we're all assuming that it is - then there is a serious question mark with regards to what happens next," he added.

Chopra noted, "Of course, (SRH) is one story. The other is the tour of England. All of us were harping about the fact that (at the) Border-Gavaskar Trophy, (Jasprit) Bumrah was alone, there was no Shami, and if there was Shami how things would have been different. But will there be Shami (in England) is the question. And what kind of Shami?"

"This tournament is such that it doesn't matter who you are. If you're not delivering the goods, you will be taken to the cleaners. And right now, what I see with Shami is, pace down is one bit, second is not enough balls getting bowled in the same area. Mohammed Shami was always that. That is his only strength (and), it is phenomenal," he said.

Shami had made his return to competitive cricket late last year with Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. He also featured in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy before returning to the Indian team for the T20I series against England earlier this year. His best recent performance came in the Champions Trophy, where he picked up 5/53 against Bangladesh and ended the tournament as India's top wicket-taker with nine wickets, helping India lift the trophy.

Also there have been off moments too -- like the match against Pakistan in the same tournament, where he bowled five wides in his first over. On Friday, something similar happened. He bowled too straight to Shubman Gill, who flicked him for six, then gave too much room to B Sai Sudharsan, and even bowled a 20-run over.

"Going back to that game against Pakistan, where he bowled five wides in the first over - okay that happened also 45 days ago or, maybe more, two months ago (on February 23) - so if he's still not able to get the ball right... because he's not someone who will get flicked for a six; you can drive him for a four, cut him maybe - he doesn't give you that much width by the way - but very seldom will he bowl those that you're flicking for a six and you're happy facing the (next) ball. So yeah, he's not looking good," Chopra said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

Commentator Danny Morrison pointed out how difficult it can be for a fast bowler to bounce back after injury, especially with age and form not on your side.

"Sometimes, there's a saying, you just put it there rather than you bowl it," he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"And follow through, and present to the crease well, and all those sorts of things. He may just be subtly guilty - and it could be anyone - that if I am not just getting through the crease, pace has come down - sure, all those things - whether you are wholeheartedly getting through your action," he added.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) still have four matches left. They are not out of the playoff race just yet, but the chances are slim. These next four games are a chance not just for SRH to fight back, but also for Shami to prove he still has it. The IPL may not decide who gets picked for the Tests, but Shami has not played a red-ball match since June 2023 and right now, things are not looking too promising.

- ANI