One of the speculations throughout the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2019 was Mohammad Shami not playing all the games of the tournament for the Indian team, under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and the coaching of Ravi Shastri, as they kept him out of action even after his successful performances in whatever opportunities he got.
Mohammad Shami picked up 14 wickets in just four innings of that event, at an average of under 14 and a strike rate of just over 15, with an economy of 5.48, including the hat-trick he picked up against Afghanistan to carry the blue brigade over the line in a narrow win.
He is India’s highest wicket-taker of the tournament history, sitting at the fifth position in the list of all the bowlers, with 55 wickets in 18 innings, at an average of under 14 and a strike rate of under 16 with an economy of just over five.
‘A similar happened in 2023.’- Mohammad Shami
Despite being a consistent performer for India in the 50-over ICC tournaments, Mohammad Shami hasn’t been a regular member of the Indian team in these events. In 28 games in the last three World Cups in the ODIs, Shami has featured in 18 of them, taking India to victory in 15 of those.
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The 33-year-old was benched in four of the group games in the 2019 World Cup, where he showed his excellent skills of bowling, picking up a five-wicket haul against England in his third and penultimate appearance in that competition.
Despite these successes, the veteran was ignored a place during the two-champions’ semifinal game against New Zealand at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, after being rested for India’s final group event against Sri Lanka.
In a recent podcast show on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube show- ‘Unplugged’, Mohamad Shami admitted that he was puzzled by the decision of the team management during the 2019 ODI World Cup.
‘In 2019 I did not play the first 4-5 games. In the next game, I took a hat trick, then picked up a five-wicket haul, and then four wickets in the next game.’ Mohammad Shami expressed in the show. ‘A similar happened in 2023. I did not play in the first few games and then picked a fifer, then four wickets, and then a five-wicket haul again.’
The Uttar Pradesh-born wondered what was expected from him, as he had neither the questions nor the answers on the selection.
‘The one thing I keep wondering is every team needs players who can perform well. I took 13 wickets in three matches. What more do you expect from me? I neither have questions nor do I have answers. I can only prove myself when I get the opportunity.’ Mohammad Shami noted.
‘You gave me a chance, and I took 13 wickets in three matches. Then we lost to New Zealand. played four matches overall and picked 14 wickets. In 2023, I picked 24 wickets in seven matches.’ The experienced Indian bowler observed.
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Even during the 2023 World Cup, he wasn’t picked at the beginning of the tournament, as India went with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the three pace bowling options, along with two spinners- all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
Once Pandya was injured during the game against Bangladesh in Pune, Shami came into the playing eleven, and contributed tremendously with the ball in hand, to end as the top wicket-taker of the event, with 24 scalps in seven innings, at an average of under 11.