Indian World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar has compared the Indian speedster Mohammed Shami to legendary Indian skipper Kapil Dev to keep himself match-fit at any time after witnessing his impressive performance against England in a World Cup 2023 match in Lucknow.
Mohammed Shami was at his best on Sunday as he picked up 4 wickets for just 22 runs in 7 overs against the defending champions. The Bengal pacer took his World Cup tally to 40, just 4 behind India’s leading wicket-takers; Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath.
In an interview with India Today, Sunil Gavaskar highlighted how the training pitches in Mohammed Shami’s village are helping him to find rhythm, despite having been in and out of the side in ODI cricket and said that he felt the India pacer focuses more on bowling in the nets, much like his former teammate.
“There is a lot of hard work there. When he goes back home, he has got several pitches made apparently, and he just bowls and bowls over there. That is what is important. He is looking at his personal cricketing fitness. What is his specialty? It’s fast bowling”.
“By bowling a number of overs in the nets where he stays. I don’t know whether he is a gym person. You can be doing gym all day. But at the end of the day… Mohammed Shami is doing exactly what Kapil Dev used to do, just bowl and bowl in the nets,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
The Indian pacer did not get a chance in the XI in the first World Cup 2023 matches, but he returned with a 5-wicket haul against New Zealand in Dharamsala. A week’s break between the two matches did not affect Shami’s rhythm, as he shone with a 4-wicket haul making indispensable member of the Indian team going into the remaining games of the World Cup.
Mohammed Shami Looks Like A Cheetah Or Leopard Going For The Kill – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar believes that Mohammed Shami is a bit old-school when it comes to giving importance to bowling heavily in the nets, much like Kapil Dev. Dev used to be particular about fast bowlers doing that extra bit in the nets and having the mileage to go full throttle on the bigger matches.
“He is not listening to all your bio-mechanic experts who might say ‘oh no, no bowl only 15-20 deliveries in the nets’. He knows that as a fast bowler, he really needs a lot more mileage in his legs as he runs in to bowl,” Gavaskar stated.
“He is showing it. And the rhythm, it gets so good. When he is running into bowl, and when the drone camera captures it, he looks like a cheetah or a leopard going for the kill. It’s a fantastic sight,” Sunil Gavaskar further added.
The right arm-pacer was brought in the absence of Hardik Pandya and impressed everyone with a match-winning performance in last couple of games and the Bengal pacer would be keen to give his best in the remaining games of the ODI World Cup.
