Played 2015 ODI World Cup With a Broken Knee: Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami has revealed he played the entirety of India's 2015 ODI World Cup campaign with an injury and doctors used to take fluid out of his swollen knee everyday to ease the pain.

The then defending champions India exited the world cup after a semi-final defeat to eventual champions Australia. Shami was one of the top performers, finishing with 17 wickets - the second best for India behind Umesh Yadav's 18.

"I had knee injury during the 2015 World Cup," Shami told Irfan Pathan during an Instagram chat. "I couldn't walk after the matches I played throughout the tournament with the injury. I played the 2015 World Cup because of Nitin Patel's (team physio) confidence."

Shami revealed that his knee got fractured in India's tournament opener against Pakistan itself and he resorted to painkillers. "The knee broke in the first match itself. My thighs and knees were the same size, doctors used to take out fluid from them everyday. I used to take three painkillers," Shami said.

The injury got worse and before the vital semi-final fixture, Shami had given up before the then captain MS Dhoni motivated him. "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.

However, after his opening spell ended, Shami went off field due to excruciating pain but Dhoni again convinced him to continue.

"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, few said my career is over, but I am still here," he said.

Despite his past history with injuries, Shami has now become a much improved bowler after having worked on his fitness under the guidance of bowling coach Bharat Arun and is an India regular across formats.

Like his captain Virat Kohli, the 29-year-old, also prefers Test cricket over other formats. "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 said.