Indian cricketer in focus: Shami Ahmed - Rising above the ordinary

For the ordinary, unanticipated fortune is a luxury. Fairy tale luck is a monopoly of the special ones who can afford it. For the run of the mill slogger, who banks on gradual rising through the ranks, opportunities are few and far between.

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh and playing for Bengal, Mohammed Shami Ahmed is one of those unrecognizable faces in Indian cricket who remain on the opposite pole of limelight. His is yet another ordinary story in Indian cricket where the emergence of the cricketer depends solely on how well he manages to make use of his limited opportunities.

There come, in a cricketer’s life, certain stages where he is forced to take life-changing decisions which he remains indebted to for life. With no senior national cricketer or present Board official to back him, Shami Ahmed’s decision of leaving home in Amroha for Bengal was perhaps one he would cherish forever.

Urged by his coach, Badruddin Siddiqui, Ahmed played club matches for Bengal before being selected for the Under-22 and senior Bengal T20 squads which was followed by a break in the Ranji Trophy. His consistent efforts resulting into decent success meant the national jersey wasn’t far enough.

However, with India performing well with regular strike bowlers, Ahmed established himself as more of a seasoned bench-warmer for the side. Finally, on January 6 this year, in the third ODI against Pakistan, the India cap beckoned an elated Ahmed, who went on to prove his worth with an inspired performance.

As an Indian cricketer, Ahmed enjoys the elusive lack of publicity which most of his celebrity teammates yearn for. Little has been written about the 23-year-old whose emergence in the Indian scheme of things has been extraordinarily usual in these days of sudden bursts of talent. Possessing neither the raw pace of a Varun Aaron or the lethal swing of a Bhuvneshwar Kumar, his is an enigmatic story of success.

Ahmed burst into the scene with a decent performance against Assam in 2010 which included three wickets. After picking up 14 wickets in eight T20 games for Bengal, he caught the eyes of Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, for whom he debuted in the Indian Premier League.

As a reward for a good domestic season, Ahmed was selected for the West Indies-bound India A squad last year. The Caribbean islands proved lucky for the medium pacer as he marched on to grab the headlines for a 73 run partnership for the tenth wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara.