"The people who used to like the Indian cricket team for their batting have now started cheering for us" - Shami reflects on bowling unit's rise
Team India pacer Mohammed Shami spoke about the rise of the bowling unit, especially the pacers, which has instilled belief in the team to thrive in ICC tournaments as well as in overseas conditions across formats. The right-arm pacer has played a huge role for the national team over the years, spearheading the seam bowling unit, a responsibility he still carries to this day.
Shami, despite being part of the 2023 ODI World Cup squad, was not part of the playing XI initially. It took an injury to all-rounder Hardik Pandya for Shami to come into the scheme of things. Once he was in the playing XI, he wreaked havoc throughout India's unbeaten run to the finals of the tournament.
Shami ended up as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 24 wickets in just seven matches, which included a famous seven-wicket haul against New Zealand in the semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The bowler stated that while fans were enthralled by the performance of the Indian seamers in the World Cup, the actual process started about a decade ago. Shami was one of the central figures in the pace-bowling revolution catalyzed by former skipper Virat Kohli, and former coaches Ravi Shastri and Bharat Arun.
"The people who used to like the Indian cricket team for their batting have now started cheering for us. There is no greater happiness than this. People talk about the performance of the bowlers during the World Cup, but, if you have to look at the overall picture, you have to go back to 2013 and 2014. That is where the journey started," Shami said in an interaction with News18.
Shami further stated that the platform has been set for the young pacers to take centre stage. Workload management and fixture congestion have led to several pacers featuring for India across formats in recent times, including Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan.
“If we look at the facts now, we only had three fast bowlers performing in the World Cup this time, which makes us believe that we have set the benchmark for future bowlers. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah came in after and then Mohammed Siraj. Like this, this team could set a benchmark on its own," the pacer added.
The upcoming crop of bowlers have a long way to go before they can match the levels and standards set by the veterans, but they do have the right platform and guidance to succeed.
Shami is currently nursing an ankle injury that has kept him out of the England Tests so far
Mohammed Shami's last appearance on the field remains the infamous 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad.
Dealing with an ankle injury throughout the World Cup, he was ruled out of the entire South Africa tour, the home series against Afghanistan, and seemingly the entire Test series against England as well.
The pacer is expected to be fully fit in time for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Gujarat Titans (GT), which could potentially lead to a call-up to the Team India squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.