One meal a day, no sweets and a lot of hard work... It takes a lot to be Mohammed Shami.
The premier pacer, in a chat with cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu on Star Sports, revealed what he does to remain match-fit even at the age of 34. Shami clinched five wickets on Thursday against Bangladesh and will once again lead the attack when India face Pakistan on Sunday.
“After 2015, I only have one meal a day. I only have dinner; no breakfast, no lunch. It is very difficult to do such a thing but once you get used to it then it becomes very easy,” he said.
Shami had been sidelined from international cricket for 14 months due to an ankle injury sustained during the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia. He was the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 24 scalps.
Recollecting his post-surgery recovery phase, the fast-bowler said: “I have
lost 9kg (during rehabilitation). The most difficult thing is you have to challenge yourself.
“When you are in this condition... when I was at the NCA, it was a very difficult phase. My weight was touching 90kg. The best thing about me is that I do not crave for delicacies. I stay away from sweets. I stay away from a lot of things, things that generally one shouldn’t eat. So, I stay away from them.”
Though usually on a strict diet, Shami, who has 55 wickets across three ODI World Cups and recently became the eighth Indian to reach 200 wickets in one-day cricket, said that he does enjoy his biryani once in a while.
“As far as the biryani is concerned, sometimes it’s okay.”