5 Players who owe their success to Virat Kohli
Not many can handle the enormous number of responsibilities that come added with the role of the Indian skipper.
5. Mohammed Shami
A cricketer found by Mahendra Singh Dhoni but groomed by Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami has been a story of resurrection. He made his debut in 2013 against Pakistan but was immediately sidelined by the brilliance of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the express pace of Umesh Yadav. However, he did not shy away and kept himself in contention for a place in the playing 11.
While Bhuvneshwar was expected to lead the Indian attack in the 2015 World Cup alongside Umesh, fate had a different hero. An injury for the former saw Shami emerged as India’s best wicket-taking option. But Shami’s career was also disgraced by repetitive injuries and off-field scandals which threatened to cut short his playing days.
But a change in captaincy bought Shami back into the frame. After making a comeback into the Test squad in 2018, Shami took 47 wickets and finished the year as the second-highest Indian wicket-taker. Despite excelling in red-ball cricket, he had to wait to get back his chances in limited-overs. ‘
But Virat Kohli did not make him wait too long and drafted him into the Blues ahead of the World Cup last year and the 29-year-old ended 2019 as the highest international wicket-taker in ODI with 42 scalps.
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