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Former India head coach Ravi Shastri expressed his disappointment over the absence of ace speedster Mohammad Shami in T20Is. He did not like the idea of looking beyond the Gujarat Titans (GT) seamer despite him having a strong IPL season.
The Men in Blue struggled to defend 173 runs against Sri Lanka on Tuesday as the seamers failed to pick up a single wicket. Hardik Pandya, who was assigned the role of a third seamer, once again failed to live up to expectations, conceding 35 runs in his four overs.
Speaking to Star Sports after the match, Shastri said:
"I was quite surprised that you came here with just four fast bowlers [including Deepak Chahar as a standby]. You needed that extra one. Someone like Mohammed Shami sitting at home baffles me after the IPL for him not making the cut."
Shami picked up 20 wickets in 16 matches during IPL 2022 with an economy rate of eight runs per over. His contributions played a vital role as the Titans won IPL 2022 in their debut season. He has, so far, scalped 99 wickets in 93 matches in the T20 extravaganza.
Despite his superlative performances, Shami has not played for India in T20Is since the last edition of the T20 World Cup in the UAE. He has represented India in only 17 T20Is and scalped 18 wickets.
"Imagine having Bumrah and Shami with the new ball" - Gautam Gambhir
Senior Indian seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel are undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Stadium (NCA) in Bengaluru. It remains uncertain whether they will get fit for the upcoming home T20I series against Australia and South Africa, scheduled to be played in September and October.
The Asia Cup winners list for all the previous seasons is available here.
The selection committee might consider giving Shami enough games in the upcoming three matches against the Aussies and South Africa each to prepare him for the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
Gautam Gambhir believes the bowling unit will look stronger when Bumrah, Harshal, and Shami return to the squad. Speaking to Star Sports, the former Indian cricketer said:
“Look when Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel make a comeback, and if you include Mohammad Shami in this bowling line-up, it’ll appear a completely different bowling attack.”
He added:
“Imagine having Bumrah and Shami with the new ball and Arshdeep Singh and Harshal for the death overs. There is a lot of depth.”
The Men in Blue will play three T20Is against Australia followed by as many games against South Africa ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.
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