"You had 8 days break between the 2nd and the 3rd Test"- Former Indian captain questions India for resting Mohammed Shami in IND vs AUS 3rd Test

Former Indian captain and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar was baffled to see the way Mohammed Shami bowled his opening spell in the fourth Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Shami was a bit inconsistent with his line and length and that helped Travis Head and Usman Khawaja get off to a brisk start. Generally, there is a bit of help for pacers in the first hour of play, but Shami and Umesh Yadav were a bit erratic and that meant that India failed to strike early.

Speaking on air for Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar questioned the need for India to rest Mohammed Shami in the Indore Test when the gap between that Test and the one prior in Delhi was more than a week. He said:

"Resting Mohammed Shami was not a smart move. You had 8 days break between the 2nd and the 3rd Test. He bowled military medium in his first two deliveries. The batter is nervous, he is not yet off the mark. If he sees the ball go harmlessly to the keeper, he gets an opportunity to see what the pitch is doing. He can then mentally start to relax just that little bit."

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Mohammed Shami is a bowler who likes to be in rhythm: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar was also pretty vocal about how bowlers like Shami want to continue their rhythm of bowling and don't want any unnecessary breaks when they are in their groove.

On this, Gavaskar stated:

"Great bowlers were at you straightaway, from the first ball. I think, you know that Shami is the kind of bowler who likes to be in rhythm, may be you shouldn't rest him. I think it's important to get your bowling muscles going, in the gym, you don't get your bowling muscles going."

Shami made a much better comeback in his next spell, keeping things tight and also dismissing Marnus Labuchagne cheaply.