India rested Mohammed Shami against Sri Lanka because he is a Muslim, says a Pakistan panelist

India brushed aside Sri Lanka at Headingley by comfortably chasing down 265 runs and also topped the points table with 15 points to their name. As this was the dead-rubber game, they opted to rest Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Shami who have been terrific for the team so far in this World Cup. However, one of the cricket experts from Pakistan thinks that the latter was benched because he is Muslim.

Shami didn’t play the first few matches with Bhuvneshwar Kumar being preferred in the XI. Bhuvi fared decently but was sidelined after sustaining a hamstring injury during the Pakistan game which paved the for Shami and since then, he has just ruled the charts. The Bengal pacer has so far picked 14 wickets in just 4 outings with two four-wicket hauls and a five-fer.

While speaking to one of the Pakistan news channel, the panelist who was sitting alongside the former cricketer Moin Khan raised questions over Mohammed Shami being rested. He claimed that India’s Government Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is putting pressure on the Indian team to not let the Muslims progress.

This is BJP’s agenda

“I wouldn’t have dropped. The bowler who has picked 14 wickets in only three matches (4 matches). You’ve benched him suddenly. He was also approaching a record. He would’ve also come in top two or three in the leading wicket-takers’ list. I can’t understand. I think there is pressure on the team to bench Shami. I think BJP’s agenda of not letting the Muslims progress is the reason for Shami being benched,” he said.

While the claims look really baseless, this is not the first time Pakistan has brought forward the religion issue. Earlier, after India lost to England, Abdul Razzaq had claimed that only Mohammed Shami had tried his best, being a Muslim, to help Pakistan by taking a five-wicket haul. However, the Indian team wouldn’t be caring of all such claims as they are gearing up for the semi-final against New Zealand on Tuesday at the Old Trafford.

VIDEO: India rested Shami yesterday against Sri Lanka on Modi’s order as he doesn’t want Muslims to play for team and break records – Pakistan’s cricket analysts pic.twitter.com/BVv2bLwpUD

— Navneet Mundhra (@navneet_mundhra) July 7, 2019