T20 World Cup: 3 reasons why Mohammed Shami could be the answer to India's bowling woes
Mohammed Shami has reached Australia to replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the eighth edition of the ICC T20 World Cup. The speedster last played a T20 international in the previous World T20 in the UAE, where his performance was mediocre to say the least.
Shami managed to take just 6 wickets in the 5 matches played, while going wicketless in 3 of them. He leaked runs in crucial matches, like going above 11 an over against Pakistan and giving away as many runs in the solitary over he bowled against New Zealand.
Shami had fallen out of contention for a place in the T20 side following that lukewarm outing, while the management looked for players more suited to this format of the game.
But today he finds himself in Australia again for this year's edition of the T20 World Cup. And we can expect things to be different for Shami this time around, because of the following three reasons:
1. Performance in last few editions of the IPL
Mohammed Shami has produced impressive performances in the last two editions of the Indian Premier League. He spearheaded the bowling unit of the Gujarat Titans this year and helped them clinch the maiden IPL trophy in their very first season. He gave runs at 8 an over in 16 matches, while picking up 20 wickets.
In 2021, he picked 19 wickets in 14 matches at an efficient economy of 7.5 for the Punjab Kings.Even in the 2020 edition, he defended just 6 in the super over on one of the occasions for Punjab.
He has gotten better as a death-overs bowler over the course of the season, and such performances will give him confidence leading up to the World Cup.
2. Vast Experience
Mohammed Shami brings to the table not a lot of bowlers can - a treasure trove of experience. Having played 17 T20Is and 93 matches in the IPL, the one thing we can attribute to Mohammed Shami is experience.
Shami took 3 wickets from just 4 balls in the Warm-up match. https://t.co/cUfgJgjFXf
He brings with him the capacity to swing the ball in the early overs of the game, and also to nail yorkers at the death - an aspect he has really worked on in the past few years. Standing at 99 IPL wickets, he knows how to handle the pressure of big matches.
3. Recent form
Mohammed Shami stayed out of action for some time, missing the South Africa and New Zealand series due to sickness. However, he has come back looking in red hot form. In the recent warm-up game India played against Australia, we got a glimpse of what we might expect from Mohammed Shami at the World Cup.
Thank you everyone for your love and support. The hard work is paying off. Just feels great to be back on the field, playing for #TeamIndia. Onwards and upwards.#mdshami11 https://t.co/xmLNOKDSZ7
The 32-year-old came in to bowl the last over of the match with 11 runs to defend. This was, incidentally, his first over of the game. It seemed like captain Rohit Sharma wanted to give Shami a taste of what he would be tasked with in the World Cup, and Shami did not disappoint.
In a brilliant showcase of death over bowling, the talented pacer picked up 3 wickets in the over, nailing two perfect toe-crushers, while also effecting a run-out. Thanks to his performance, India ended up winning the warm-up game.
Considering all these reasons, it might be appropriate to say that Mohammed Shami is set to be an asset to the Indian team in the upcoming World Cup.