'People ask what I have done differently' - Mohammed Shami on his 2.0 version

Mohammed Shami’s career in the last two years has been on a tremendous rise. The right-arm quick had a great start to his career in 2013. But an injury slowed down his progress in 2015. However, he has come back running fast and taking regular wickets, something which everyone associates with him.

In a recent interaction, the fast bowler talked about how people react to his transition. He addressed the fact that he was called lazy previously by many, something which they have stopped now in recent times thanks to his exceptional performances in international cricket.

They used to pull my leg earlier by calling me lazy, recalls Mohammed Shami

“When I was new to domestic cricket, even in Ranji Trophy, people used to call me lazy and moody. But when this 2.0 tag was attached to me they have been asking me what have I done differently, what has been the change? They used to pull my leg earlier by calling me lazy but my performance even back then was fine. But now when my performance has improved, with the 2.0 tag, the questions have changed,” Shami said at Salaam Cricket 2020.

2019 was a great year for Mohammed Shami. Since the start of 2019, the pacer has taken 50 wickets in 25 ODIs. In Tests as well, he has been really consistent with the ball. In 49 Tests, he has taken 180 wickets with an average of just above 27. The 29-year-old pacer, who plays for Bengal in Ranji Trophy cricket, has sort of rediscovered himself. He has also been playing regularly in T20s, something which he hadn’t done previously.

“I never targetted playing for India because I had been rejected several times from the UP team. I was just determined to play the Ranji Trophy. Now they ask me what have you done to change yourself. I used to perform well then but now with Shami 2.0, they ask me what has changed?” Shami said.

The right-arm quick also talked about the new ‘no saliva’ rule by the ICC. He expressed his concerns if reverse swing, something which is an integral part of cricket might lose its existence over a period of time. He explained that sweat is not enough to make the ball to reverse swing, as for that saliva is a must.