Reasons behind Mohammad Shami's selection for ICC Champions Trophy

The selection of the Indian team for the Champions Trophy to be played in England has established two important facts pertaining to Indian cricket. Firstly, it has confirmed that India is participating in this ICC event and secondly, the selectors are in no mood to take any risks in terms of player selection for such a mega event. They have opted for experience and performance rather than youthful exuberance and potential.

That is why Rishabh Pant is not in the squad while Shikhar Dhawan is. Although Pant, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni were discussed at length after the announcement of the Indian team, one important inclusion which selectors made in the bowling department went under the radar. Mohammad Shami, who hasn’t played any ODI since the 2015 World Cup, is included in the team.

Shami’s inclusion in the team seems interesting because for such an important tournament, the selectors are going ahead with a bowler who has faced several injury issues in the past couple of years and although he is fit for now, no one is sure how good his bowling form is.

Shami so far has featured in five matches for Delhi Daredevils in this year’s IPL, with an economy rate of 9.92 and average of 69.50 which is pretty bad for an international bowler.

So what has prompted the selectors to bank on this right-arm pacer for a major ICC event? Two things have certainly gone in favour of Shami. One is his past performances before the injury and the second is the playing conditions in England.

Impressive past performances

When he was part of the Indian team before 2015, Shami was the spearhead of Indian bowling attack and was amongst the best in the world. In fact, from 1 October 2013 till the end of 2015 World Cup, Shami was the leading wicket taker in the world with 77 scalps ahead of Dale Steyn who plundered 60 wickets. In the same period, no other Indian pace bowler managed to pick up more than 50 wickets.

Shami is a complete bowler when compared with the rest of the bowlers. While Umesh thrives on pace and Bhuveneshwar on swing, Shami excels at both. He has bowled tidily upfront and has taken wickets with the new ball and at the same time, remained economical during the slog overs. One key feature of this right arm pacer is his reverse swing skills.

The art of reverse swing has become a rarity in modern cricket but very few have the skills to exploit it. In the same manner, the number of batsmen who excel in handling reverse swing has also reduced. Hence, if there is a hint of reverse swing in the Champions Trophy, India have the perfect weapon to thrive on it in the form of Mohammad Shami.

English conditions ideal for Shami?

Shami will need to make the most out of the English conditions

Traditionally, England has always been an ideal place for seam bowlers. The weather helps the ball to swing in the air while the pitches boost speed. Hence, during this Champions Trophy, pacers will play a key role.

Mohammad Shami, with all his abilities, is the ideal bowler for these conditions and his clean bowling action makes him even more lethal.

After their horrific performance in the 2015 World Cup, England remodelled their ODI strategy and have adopted an all-out aggressive brand of cricket. It has created a significant impact on their pitches and in the last couple of years, England pitches have become flatter and batting-friendly.

During the 22 matches played in England in this period, the overall run rate has been 6.14 and the pitches for Champions Trophy are likely to be the same. Hence, to prevent the run flow on such flat wickets, India will need an experienced bowler and Mohamad Shami surely is the best contender.

The other pacers included in the Indian squad have played plenty of cricket in the past one year and hence some might argue that the fourth pacer should have been selected based on the same criteria.

Lack of a strong alternative

Ishant Sharma failed to make the cut

From a pragmatic point of view, among the other bowling options available to the selectors, none have the same potential as Shami. Shardul Thakur is under the selector’s scanner from the last one year and his progress is impressive. But his lack of experience could turn fatal on such a big stage. Hence, selectors are happy keeping him as a back-up.

Ishant Sharma is going through a lean patch and although he has prior experience of bowling in England, the selectors have moved on. The same can be said about Ashish Nehra while Dhawal Kulkarni too hasn’t been that great with the ball in the past few months.

Thus, instead of selecting a not so decent seamer, the selectors have backed a proven match winner who currently looks under prepared.

From India’s point of view, this squad could arguably be the best pace bowling unit assembled in the last few decades. There is a swing bowler in the form of Bhuveneshwar Kumar, a genuine pace bowler which is Umesh Yadav, a death over specialist in Jasprit Bumrah and a fast bowling all-rounder, Hardik Pandya.

Mohamad Shami adds more value to this bowling unit as he is experienced, has good command over his pace and swing and importantly, has the potential to become a match-winner when the conditions favour him.