I am back to my best, says World Cup contender Mohammed Shami

With World Cup only a few months away, every player is trying his level best to seal his spot in the team. The Australia and New Zealand series are acting as an important stage for the Indian players to showcase their talent and confirm a birth for the World Cup with their performances.

Mohammed Shami emerged as one of the strong contenders for a World Cup spot after his match-winning performance against New Zealand in the first ODI played in Napier. Shami has been in a sublime form for the past 12 months after making a comeback to the ODI squad in the home series against the West Indies in October.

Shami was in very good touch in the Tests and ODIs in Australia. He carried that great form into the New Zealand series to return with the figures of 3/19 in six overs and deservedly won the Man of the Match award. When asked about his recent performances, the fast bowler was ecstatic and stressed more on his confidence level which is sky high at the moment.

“You saw in 2018, I played regular Test Cricket. The confidence level is very high. I am bowling with the same speed that I used to earlier. Hope I can continue this,” he was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Not thinking too far

Mohammed Shami mentioned that he is not thinking too far ahead as far as his selection in the World Cup is concerned and was effusive in praise of the pace attack of the team which has shaped up nicely over the years. “I am not thinking too far ahead. It depends on my fitness and performance when the team is picked. As I said, we have the best bowling unit. They can pick anyone,” he added.

The 28-year-old felt that the pitch for the first ODI was flat and the bowlers had to be disciplined with little margin for error on the small grounds in the country. “It was a high-scoring pitch. Your line and length has got to be accurate. You have to be really disciplined, especially with the smaller grounds in New Zealand,” Shami signed off.

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~ Written by Nikhil Gupta