"This year has been very bad" - Aakash Chopra on Mohammad Shami's spell in SRH's IPL 2025 loss vs GT

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that Mohammad Shami has endured a dismal run in IPL 2025. He highlighted that the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) seamer hasn't regained his rhythm despite playing top-grade cricket for the last few months.

Shami registered figures of 0/48 in three overs as the Gujarat Titans (GT) set SRH a 225-run target in Match 51 of IPL 2025 in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 2. The visitors managed only 186/6 in the chase, losing the game by 38 runs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener expressed concern about Shami's performances in IPL 2025.

"I am talking about Mohammad Shami because the rhythm is not being seen. We all want Shami to do well, but this year has been very bad. It has been very bad from the IPL point of view. Of course, he won his first ICC event and picked up five wickets in the first match (in the Champions Trophy). However, it's been five months, but I haven't seen that rhythm," he said (15:20).

Chopra added that the veteran seamer has been down on pace, with batters hitting him for sixes easily, which was never the case earlier.

"He is a great bowler, but the ball is not pitching consistently at the same spot. The pace is also 135 and not 145. Leave 145, it should be 141. The pace is five to seven kph down. He cannot be hit for a six with a flick like that. Shami is too good to be hit into the stands like that. Mohammad Shami has never been hit for such sixes," he observed.

Aakash Chopra opined that Mohammad Shami will likely be a part of India's squad for the upcoming away Test series against England. However, he wondered whether the Bengal seamer would return to his vintage best.

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"13 runs off 17 balls and you are chasing such a huge total" - Aakash Chopra on Ishan Kishan's knock in SRH's IPL 2025 loss vs GT

Ishan Kishan (left) failed to force the pace in SRH's IPL 2025 clash against GT. [P/C: Getty]

Reflecting on SRH's chase in the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Abhishek Sharma (74 off 41) for playing an enterprising knock. However, he expressed disappointment about the slow innings played by Travis Head (20 off 16) and Ishan Kishan (13 off 17).

"Abhishek Sharma batted well. He is a good six-hitting guy. So he played incredibly well, but two knocks. Travis Head - the start wasn't enjoyable. Ishan Kishan - 13 runs off 17 balls, and you are chasing such a huge total. He scored a hundred in the first match, but nothing has come after that. There hasn't been any significant contribution," he said (16:45).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Heinrich Klaasen's inability to finish games has also contributed to SRH's poor run in IPL 2025.

"One more thing has hurt a lot, that's Heinrich Klaasen. Klaasen was batting decently, but he is unable to finish matches. He is also not looking out of form, but the one big knock came in a losing cause. So it was a very ordinary batting performance," Chopra observed.

Heinrich Klaasen scored 23 runs off 18 deliveries in SRH's IPL 2025 clash against GT. Abhishek Sharma was the only SRH player to score more than 25 runs in Friday's game.