ICC tournaments and Mohammed Shami is a great love story: Piyush Chawla

India commenced the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 with a commanding win over Bangladesh. After the match, former India cricketer and JioHotstar expert Piyush Chawla weighed in on Shubman Gill’s stellar innings, Mohammed Shami’s impactful comeback, and other key moments.

Speaking on Gill’s knock, Chawla highlighted the tricky nature of the pitch, suggesting that his mature handling of the situation was a crucial reason behind India’s success. Notably, Gill was named the Player of the Match for his 129-ball 101.

"It was an impressive knock because it wasn’t the easiest pitch to bat on. When you’re chasing around 230 runs on such a surface, you need someone to stay till the end, and that’s exactly what Shubman Gill did. A player of his calibre, who is in such good form, knows when to hold back and play responsibly. That’s what makes him such an important player for this Indian team,” Chawla said.

“He understands the situation and what the team needs at any given time. There were phases where he didn’t even try to hit a boundary—just rotating the strike with singles and doubles—because that was what the team required at that moment. That is the sign of a mature player. Now that he is the vice-captain as well, you expect him to embrace that role, and he did just that. At one point, India was in a tricky situation, having lost a few wickets. But the way he anchored the innings and stayed till the end was very, very impressive."

Chawla also lauded Shami who became the fastest Indian to 200 ODI wickets and bagged a fifer to put to rest any doubts about his form upon his return to international cricket after a long injury-enforced hiatus.

Also Read: Champions Trophy 2025: Mohammed Shami becomes fastest Indian bowler to reach 200 ODI wickets

"ICC tournaments and Mohammed Shami—it's a great love story. Whenever he plays in an ICC tournament, he turns into a different bowler altogether. He’s coming back from injury, and while he looked a bit rusty in the recent bilateral series, the positive sign was that he was getting his overs in. Today, he looked much better. We are yet to see a 100% Shami, but this five-wicket haul will definitely boost his confidence.

“It’s crucial to assess the conditions, and Shami, with his upright seam position, knows exactly where to pitch the ball. He consistently hit the six-to-eight-meter mark, which allowed him to get movement off the surface. That’s why he was successful, picking up early wickets with the new ball. It was also great to see him using variations, including well-disguised slower balls."

Chawla also assessed Virat Kohli’s dismissal as his struggle against leg spinners extended. Kohli made watchful start and looked comfortable in the middle before his attempt to cut a length delivery from Rishad Hossain flew straight to Soumya Sarkar.

"When Virat came to bat, most of the spinners were in operation, and ideally, you want to play them off the back foot to get that extra bit of time. But in recent matches, we’ve seen him struggle against leg-spinners—he’s been dismissed by them five times in his last five innings. Every team does their homework, so when he walked in, Bangladesh immediately brought on Rishad Hossain.

“Credit to Rishad—he bowled tight lines, attacking the stumps consistently. Unlike other spinners who flight the ball more, Rishad bowls quicker through the air, which doesn’t give batters much time. Even the ball that dismissed Kohli wasn’t too wide for a cut shot, but the extra pace and bounce meant he couldn’t keep it down. That’s where Rishad’s skill came into play."

Speaking on Rohit Sharma’s reaction to KL Rahul’s catch, Chawla said: "We all know how crucial KL Rahul’s dropped catch was, and we saw Rohit Sharma’s reaction to it. He knew how much that moment meant. Rahul was on just 9 runs at the time, and from there, he went on to score a vital 41. Those 30-odd runs were extremely important as he built a crucial partnership with Shubman Gill."