‘His stature has grown a lot’ – Aakash Chopra lauds Mohammed Shami after terrific IPL 2023 performance

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra praised Gujarat Titans speedster Mohammed Shami for his amazing form with the ball in IPL 2023. The Gujarat Titans were sublime in their entire tournament but lost the final against Chennai Super Kings. The level of their domination in the leagues was such that both the Orange as well as Purple Caps were won by the GT players.

Their bowling was led by star Indian pacer Shami who took wickets in powerplay and even bowled brilliantly in the death and won the Purple Cap. Chopra reflected on Shami’s contribution and said that the star Indian pacer has grown from strength to strength in the last two seasons playing for Gujarat Titans. The cricketer-turned-commentator was in awe of Shami's ability to take advantage of seaming conditions and pointed out that the pacer also took advantage of home conditions.

"How good a player he is. Mohammad Shami's stature has grown a lot with this team. When he was selected, there was a question for sure, that Shami does well in all formats but T20s is 50-50, He did well last year and took home the Purple Cap this year. The way he bowled to get the Purple Cap, the ball moves a lot under lights in Ahmedabad and he is an exponent of that," he said on his YouTube channel. 

Shami's spell against Delhi Capitals was one of the best of IPL 2023: Aakash Chopra

Overall, he finished the IPL 2023 with 28 wickets an astonishing economy of 8.03 in 17 matches. The bowling performance was even more commendable considering Shami bowled in the powerplay. Chopra even said that Shami’s spell against Delhi Capitals and Akash Madhwal’s spell against Lucknow Super Giants are among the spells of the season for him.

"If you have to see the best bowling spell of this year, two spells will come to your mind. One was the five-wicket haul that Akash Madhwal picked up against the Lucknow Super Giants and the other was the four wickets Mohammad Shami took right at the start against the Delhi Capitals, he was absolutely incredible," he added.