Fans pleased with Mohammed Shami's World Cup selection
Shami is the third pacer in the Indian bowling line-up and has a great chance of even starting in the XI.
India announced their squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019 on Monday and it didn’t feature either Ambati Rayudu or Rishabh Pant even though they featured in the Men in Blue’s scheme of things in the recent past. Among the fast bowlers, India picked Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami with Hardik Pandya set to chip in as the other seam bowling option.
The decision to go with Shami was no surprise but what made it significant was that it was a reward he deserved. The 28-year-old Bengal pacer had a great run between his debut in 2013 till the 2015 World Cup in which he claimed 17 scalps to finish as India’s second-highest wicket-taker after Umesh Yadav (18).
He stole the headlines for being a cricketer who could reverse the old ball and pick wickets at the death overs. However, Shami fell to an injury and was out from the national team for a long time. It was during this time that Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar established themselves as better death bowlers and it took Shami a while to return to the ODI side even though he played Tests regularly.
Shami has worked on his fitness & serving India for long stretches
Shami now is one of the most trusted hands of India’s famed pace battery and even spearheaded the attack in the absence of Bumrah in New Zealand earlier this year and bagged the man of the series award. Before that, the pacer also bowled well in all the three games against Australia. He has been shouldering responsibilities in the Tests and ODIs for some time now which shows that he has worked on his fitness as well.
The pacer is currently playing in the Indian Premier League for Kings XI Punjab and has taken 10 wickets in eight matches which says a lot about his current form. Indian captain Virat Kohli will be hoping that Shami lives up to his expectations in the upcoming WC replicating his performance of 2015.
Here are some of the reactions from the fans:
Get the latest Cricket News and updates from World Cup 2019, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.
Download Our App