IND vs BAN: Mohammed Shami Likely To Replace Shardul Thakur In Playing XI

Mohammed Shami is reportedly set to play against Bangladesh on Thursday (October 19) in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The match is scheduled to take place at the Maharashtra Cricket Association in Pune.

Following Mohammed Siraj’s meteoric rise in ODIs, Mohammed Shami has fallen down the pecking order. As a result, he had to warm the bench throughout India’s first three games in the ongoing tournament.  While Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah are the first choice pacers, the team-management has preferred Shardul Thakur over Mohammed Shami due to the former’s batting abilities.

Mohammed Shami is one of the only two Indian players who are yet to play a game in the tournament. Middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav is the other player. And while Suryakumar Yadav is unlikely to play against Bangladesh, the right-arm pacer is reportedly set to do so.

He has been included in the final 12 selected by the Indian team and is likely to play the upcoming game, according to Cricbuzz. With the Indian batting lineup doing well in the first three games, the team-management could drop Thakur to make way for Shami.

Mohammed Shami’s World Cup record:

Mohammed Shami is one of the most experienced pacers in the Indian team and has a fine record in the World Cup. In fact, no pacer in the current Indian team has picked up more World Cup wickets than him. He has played two ODI World Cups so far.

In the 2015 edition, he was the fourth highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets from 7 games. In 2019, he was only behind Jasprit Bumrah in the list of most wickets in the World Cup by an Indian. He had picked up 14 wickets including a hat-trick against Afghanistan. Overall, Mohammed Shami has picked up 31 wickets in the World Cup. Only Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath, both with 44 wickets, have picked more World Cup wickets than him.

Meanwhile, Team India will be looking to extend their winning run in the competition. The Men in Blue have started their campaign with three wins in a row and will be eyeing their fourth win when they take on Bangladesh.