With his daughter admitted in ICU, Mohammad Shami inspires India to series win in Kolkata Test 1

Indian fast bowler Mohammad Shami has just raised the bar one notch higher for commitment. The bowler played a crucial role in helping India defeat New Zealand in the second Test at Eden Gardens to win the series and also reclaim the number one Test ranking. Playing at his home ground, the pacer took six wickets in the match as India made light work of the visitors to win the match by 197 runs. Shami took the last New Zealand wicket and walked out of the stadium with a smiling face but little did the millions watching the game knew the pain behind that smile.

On the very second day of the Test, Shami’s 14-month-old daughter Aira fell critically ill. The baby’s condition worsened half-an-hour later when she was struggling to breathe properly and had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a city hospital.

The bowler was informed about her daughter’s condition after the end of day’s play. However, the bowler put behind the mental stress and gave an inspirational performance for his team’s cause. The bowler had to juggle between visiting his daughter every day after the end of the match and return to the team hotel in the night.

After the conclusion of the match, when the bowler was asked how he dealt with the mental stress, he aid: “My captain had given me huge inspiration every night after I returned from the hospital. So, I am extremely thankful to him and also thankful to the mates who also gave me belief that my daughter must get cured by the time Test ends.”

The pacer’s commitment was praiseworthy and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his delight to see the bowler’s attitude towards the team’s cause.

“We are delighted to have watched Shami for his excellent bowling in spite of the fact that he was going through hard times due to his daughter’s illness,” Manjrekar said.

However, after helping his team win the match, Shami received another great news when he was informed that his daughter has recovered and returned home on Monday (October 3).

Well, this is not the first time that we have witnessed the bowler putting behind his personal problems for the benefit of the team. The pacer had played in the entire World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand with pain and played an important role in helping India reach the semi final of the World Cup.