The battle is far from over and certainly, the war isn’t won. And for the India Cricket Team to clinch a sensational win in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, the visitors will need Mohammed Shami in their ranks. While a major focus and scrutiny are being done on the batting unit, India’s pace attack too needs to be checked.
India’s pace attack headed by Jasprit Bumrah certainly has that ‘X-Factor’ but misses out on that oomph which is brought by Mohammed Shami. Bumrah has been effectively leading the charge for India as he is joined by Mohammed Siraj, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep, and Harshit Rana.
But India is certainly missing out on Mohammed Shami. While it is certain that Shami won’t be available for the Boxing Day Test, his only chance of making it to Down Under will be for the New Year’s Test in Sydney. But the addition of Shami in the bowling attack will make India’s pace attack more ferocious and dynamic.
The curious case of Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami has been missing International cricket for over a year. He last played for India in the ODI World Cup 2023 Finals in India where he went on to become the highest wicket-taker of the tournament. Following this he went under the knife on his ankle.
Subsequently, Shami went on to miss IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup. But Shami returned to action, this time playing domestic cricket. He played a Ranji Trophy match for Bengal before featuring in quite a few Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches. Now when everyone was expecting him to travel to Australia, he was then added to the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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The other day, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) went on to announce that Shami would be rested for the opening match of Vijay Hazare against Delhi in Hyderabad.
As things stand, no one knows for sure when Shami will be 100% fit to play International Cricket. After the Gabba Test, Rohit Sharma said in the Press Conference that now it is high time that the NCA team gives everyone an update about him.
Shami – The need of the hour?
India’s pace attack has been single-handedly carried out by Jasprit Bumrah and it is simply not enough. Mohammed Siraj often performs well but is inconsistent. His good days with the ball are now far too less compared to his off days. Nitish Reddy playing his debut series has acted as a good filler in between the spells.
Akash Deep and another debutant Harshit Rana too have been decent, but one surely can’t expect great things from them. But the dynamics would be different if Shami makes it for the Sydney Test. His pace and accuracy make him one of the most deadly bowlers on the planet. And if India hopes to win the BGT and make it to the WTC Finals, then having Shami in the India squad for the New Year’s Test is simply a no-brainer.
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