Team India has opted to bat first in their Asia Cup 2023 opener against Pakistan in Kandy. While fans were anticipating Mohammed Shami- Jasprit Bumrah pace combo in IND vs PAK, they were left surprised when Shardul Thakur was picked over Shami for the blockbuster clash. The veteran pacer missing out in big clash left fans wondering if he was not fit or injured.
Notably, Shami had underwent a hair transplant procedure ahead of Asia Cup 2023. The facility that Shami chose for his hair treatment was Euginix Hair Sciences and they confirmed that the hair restoration and transplant operation went well.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have not released any statement regarding Shami’s fitness, which suggests that the 32-year-old was dropped.
Batting depth over bowling depth?
Picking Shardul Thakur over Mohammed Shami in IND vs PAK clash shows that skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid are more inclined in boasting the batting strength. Shardul has been a key all-rounder for Team India in recent years and has performed well with bat.
Mohammed Shami’s ODI stats vs Pakistan
| Matches | Wickets | Best | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5 | 4/35 | 21.40 |
However, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his disappointment over Shami’s exclusion from Playing XI on a pitch which would have suited the pacer.
“Mohammed Shami would’ve been more threatening to Pakistan than Shardul Thakur. You talk about batting depth, but bowling depth matters too”, Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
Team India’s Playing XI: 1. Rohit Sharma (c), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
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