First two months after injury were most difficult: Shami

Back into the national cricket squad for the tour of Australia after a gap of eight months, star Indian pacer Mohammad Shami on Tuesday said the first two months after his knee injury were the toughest phase of his career.

Shami has been named in the India squad for the tour which includes five One-Day Internationals (ODI) starting on January 12 in Perth followed by three Twenty20 Internationals later on.

"The doctor had told me not to get out of bed for two months. It was the most difficult phase for me. I was not allowed to keep my feet on the ground. I was only allowed to get up from my bed and go to the bathroom," Shami said at a press conference here before leaving for Australia.

"And the second thing was I couldn't play. When I left the crutches and met the team before the tour of Bangladesh, I felt like I was alive again. I had not seen the dining room even for those two months. I started feeling good again when I started light running and my cricket. I felt like I was back to my world. It is very difficult to be mentally strong during this period," he said.

Shami bowled 18 overs and bagged three wickets for Bengal from two matches in the domestic one-day tournament (Vijay Hazare Trophy) recently.

"Injuries are very irritating for me and any other cricketer. It's very difficult to mentally come out of an injury. I just hope it never happens to me again in my life. I had not played for a long time and the entire team was playing so I was missing it a lot. It was very important for me to get back my rhythm and get some matches under my belt," he said.

"I wanted to start from where I had left before my injury. I was feeling comfortable as I was able to bowl with the same pace and hit the same line and length," Shami said.