Mohammed Shami should play ahead of Shardul Thakur against Bangladesh: Former Bangladesh cricketer on IND vs BAN 2023 World Cup match
Former Bangladesh cricketer Athar Ali feels India should opt for Mohammed Shami's experience instead of Shardul Thakur in their next 2023 World Cup clash against Bangladesh in Pune on Thursday, October 19.
Shami is yet to feature in the tournament, with the Men in Blue keen to have Shardul Thakur as their third seamer owing to batting depth. They haven't really used him enough, giving him just two overs against Pakistan.
Speaking to Star Sports ahead of India's clash against Bangladesh, Athar Ali has explained why the hosts will be in good stead by picking Mohammed Shami ahead of Shardul Thakur:
“I feel Mohammed Shami should play against Bangladesh because of his experience of featuring in 94 ODIs. Shardul Thakur is no doubt a good bowler having picked up 64 wickets in 46 matches but Shami has 171 strikes to his name.
"We know that Shami is very accurate with his line and length, has pace and can swing the ball. His economy is less than 6, whereas Shardul is above 6 an over.”
Veteran cricketer Manoj Tiwary was also present in the discussion and even he agreed that playing Shami ahead of Thakur made sense. He added:
"Shardul's performance hasn't yet been upto the mark as per management's expectations. He has got one wicket from 2 games and economy has been on the higher side. It is to be seen how he performs in the upcoming games but from the very beginning I wanted Mohammed Shami to be in the team which would mean 3 genuine fast bowling options.”
Will keep Shreyas Iyer ahead of Shardul Thakur: Athar Ali
Athar Ali feels Shreyas Iyer is finding some form at the right time after his unbeaten half-century against Pakistan in the last game. He has backed Iyer to have a bigger impact on the game against Bangladesh than Thakur.
On this, the former cricketer stated:
“Shreyas Iyer has performed really well in this World Cup. He didn't start well but 25 runs against Afghanistan and an unbeaten 53 off 62 balls in the biggest game against Pakistan while chasing, proved his mettle.
"Shardul Thakur didn't get to play against Australia, in the second game versus Afghanistan, he bowled 6 overs and picked up a wicket. In the Pakistan game he just bowled 2 overs and conceded 12 runs without any returns. I will definitely keep Shreyas Iyer ahead.”
A win by a decent margin could help India go back to the top of the table at the end of the game on Thursday.