The time when Shami Ahmed became Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami burst onto the Indian cricketing scene as a tear away young fast bowler. With an average pace close to almost 92 mph, a young Mohammed Shami was set to become one of the major aspects in revamping a somewhat depleted Indian pace attack. The time he came into the squad, the Indian pace bowling attack was in a crisis. Zaheer Khan was on the verge of retirement, Ishant Sharma was struggling for form and the Indian side had tried and tested Abhimanyu Mithun, Jaydev Unadkat, and several others.

However, perhaps one of the most interesting yet most confusing stories in the life of Mohammed Shami would be the presentation of his name. Shami, till the fall of 2013 was known as Shami Ahmed by one and all. Therefore, since his ODI debut against Pakistan in January of 2013, Shami was known by one and all as Shami Ahmed. This unknown fact raises the rather tantalizing question of when did ‘Shami Ahmed’ become ‘Mohammed Shami’, the bowler we all know and love so dearly.

The confusion came when Shami was on the rapid road to becoming a star in Indian cricket. In a press release, the BCCI christened him ‘Shami Ahmed’ when they released the team sheet announcing the ODI squad in early 2013. Thus, ‘Shami Ahmed’ made headlines with figures of 43-1 on ODI debut.

Impressive speeds and impressive performances ensured that Shami was indeed included in the Indian Test squad. His Test debut coincided with the 200th Test for Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. Ironically, Tendulkar also decided to announce his retirement from all forms of cricket in that particular Test match.

Despite the massive occasion, ‘Mohammed Shami’ hogged the limelight with figures of 9/118. It was at the vast expanse of the Eden Gardens that Shami finally broke his silence. His figures were the best by an Indian fast bowler on Test debut, and his bowling had been a joy to watch for the 30,000 Eden crowd.

“The press, the board, they have turned me from Mohammed Shami to Shami Ahmed. My actual name is Mohammed Shami, so it would be nice if I’m called Mohammed Shami. My name appears in the press as Shami Ahmed, and sometimes they even make the ‘h’ in the first name silent!,” Shami told Sportskeeda.

This is not the first time the BCCI has goofed-up a name. Krishnamachari Srikanth became Srikkanth while Dinesh Karthik was Kaarthik when these two were just starting their careers in international cricket. Surprisingly, Mohammed Shami played domestic cricket since 2010 under an incorrect name.