Mohammed Shami: A revelation or a rejuvenation?
In case you missed it, the Indian management has been long looking at different prospects for the third seamer in young guns including Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur and Siddarth Kaul among others for the upcoming World Cup.
In such competitive times has risen an experienced campaigner - Mohammed Shami, overcoming all his past horrors of injuries once and for all - after a long 18 months in rehab.
On Tuesday, January 8, 2019, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declared that Jasprit Bumrah, India's premier spearhead in limited overs cricket, was rested for India's ODI series against Australia and New Zealand.
This meant that India's pace attack for the two series had to be led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar along with Mohammed Shami, India's long lost talent in limited overs cricket. Shami accepted this opportunity with both hands and yet again proved to be a revelation in Indian cricket, this time, in the one-day format.
If picking 5 wickets from the 3 ODIs at an average of 30.20 against the Aussies wasn't enough, Shami went ahead and collected 9 wickets from the 4 matches he played in the series against the Kiwis at a sharply improved average of 15.33.
Shami proved his mettle thereby making a strong case for himself as the third seamer in India's squad for the World Cup to be held this year. Shami was subsequently rewarded for his performance in the first and third match of the ODI series against New Zealand, getting declared Man of the Match in the two matches and later, the Man of the Series as well.
Shami would also be in India's World Cup starting XI for a lot of people after this series. What's your take on his performance in the series against New Zealand? Would love to know in the comments below.