Mohammed Shami - the future of Indian bowling?

Mohammed Shami

This is not a matter of figures but of superb confidence, skill, and determination displayed by the latest bowling sensation Mohammed Shami who has once again dominated the scene. Luckily, we seem to have found a precious gem. Now his background stats and profile really do not matter much as he looks set to become the most sought after bowler in the recent times.

Sidhu Paji, in the beginning of 30th over, sounded hopeful that Shami would gradually open up and make telling strikes. Gavaskar Sir said that in the batting, Rohit Sharma has become a new batting sensation, while Shami has got the ability to deliver in the bowling arena. But Gavaskar also pointed out that his bowling is not ideal for reverse swing as reserve swing has to be thrown at 140 km or more to be truly effective.

On the last ball of 32nd over Shami struck, as he got Samuals LBW through reverse swing. The decision of the umpire, however was again seen as a controversial one. This was a good strike for India just before tea time. Earlier, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had got Gayle out with a cleverly executed ball and R. Ashwin had also struck when he got Powell out, but Shami, with his sweat and toil clearly visible, was the standout.

Dravid also appreciated the line and length of Shami while talking to Waqar Younis during the tea break. He said that Shami has really worked hard on his reverse swing. He had demonstrated his talent in domestic cricket as well. Sidhu again said that the way Shami and Bhuvneshwar had extracted purchase out of this almost dead pitch was really commendable.

On the last ball of the 36th over Shami struck again; as the batsman gave an easy catch to Murali Vijay, Shami’s stats became 8- 0-36-2. Kapil Dev and Sidhu again had were all praises for the hard work put in by Shami, and Kapil underlined the fact that after a long time India had fortunately got an impressive bowler who could bowl at a speed of 140 kmph.

In one of my recent articles on Shami I had mentioned that possibly Shami is going to rule the Indian bowling scene and that we have got a trustworthy and dependable fast bowler in him. Being a fast bowler himself, Kapil Dev was overwhelmed while narrating the specialities of Shami who took 9 wickets in the match.

The local boy has given delightful moments to the frenzied fans of West Bengal. Sidhu Paji said he has replaced Zaheer Khan and that his bowling is very compact, disciplined and accurate.

Before I could finish my article Mohammed Shami had finished the match by taking his 5th wicket of the day, which turned out to be the last of the match as well. His final figures remain at 13.1 – 0 – 47 – 5 with an economy of 3.56.

The future of Mohammed Shami and Team India appears to be very bright. Hats off to this young man.