Where has Mohammed Shami gone wrong?

Mohammed Shami

All eyes were focused on Sachin Tendulkar when the Indian team took the field at Eden Gardens in November 2013. The master blaster had finally announced that he would draw curtains on his illustrious career, which had spanned 24 years, and the BCCI had hastily arranged a two Test series against the West Indies, to bid him the perfect farewell.

The City of Joy kept track of every run scored by him and applauded every boundary saved- it was after all the last time the GOD was playing at the hallowed turf.

As the match progressed, it was a 23-year-old however who grabbed all the attention. Mohammad Shami playing in his debut Test match at home, was inducted into the team on the back of an impressive ODI series against Australia, where he managed to pick up 7 wickets in 3 games on docile pitches.

On a flat Eden Gardens pitch, Shami impressed one and all with his accuracy, raw pace and late reverse swing, as he picked up a match haul of 9 wickets, the best bowling figures by an Indian on debut. The yorkers were being bowled consistently at a speed of 140 kmph and after a long time, an Indian bowler was managing to beat the batsmen with pace. The Indian bowling attack, with the likes of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had finally discovered the “X Factor”, as Shami soon started troubling the opposition with the line and length along with his accurate seam position.

Impressive start to international career

Shami impressed one and all with his approach to the crease - he released balls close to the stump, with a high arm action. His upright seam position was due to his perfect wrist angle. A look at the areas he bowled in the first innings of his debut match would give a hint of the bowler’s accuracy. His lines were constantly always around the off stump and he hardly created any room for the batsman.

Shami had a decent outing in the Test series against South Africa last year, where he picked up 6 wickets in 2 matches.

His ‘freak’ dismissal of Hashim Amla in the 2nd Test match at Johannesburg would give a hint of the skills possessed by Shami. He hardly gave any room to the batsman, bowled stump-to-stump and chipped Amla’s off stump, just as the South African batsman ducked to avoid the delivery.

In the African nation, Shami picked up 9 wickets in the 3 one-day matches, which India lost 0-2. His perfect delivery to dismiss AB de Villiers, just when the batsman shuffled across the off stump, in the first ODI in Jo’burg is proof of Shami’s effectiveness as he successfully deceives one of the world’s best batsman.

Although he picked up only 6 wickets in the 2 Tests that followed, Shami had given enough reasons to believe that he could lead the attack with Ishant Sharma. In the 4 Tests, he played in 2013, the Bengal pacer picked up 17 wickets at an average of 26.17, and he was soon seen as one of the brightest stars for India.

In the New Zealand series that followed, Shami continued with his good work in both the shorter formats and 5 day games. He picked up 11 wickets in the 5 the one-dayers (although he did give away a boundary every 4 balls in the death overs), and 10 wickets in the 2 Tests. Soon, the bowler’s ability with the old ball was noticed as the opposition failed to predict his reverse swing. By bowling at a speed not expected of Indian bowlers, he soon became MS Dhoni’s go-to-man and much was expected of him in the 5 match Test series in England.

Shami’s downfall and the IPL

In between the New Zealand and England tours, came the Indian Premier League and with it started the player’s struggles. The Indian, playing for Delhi Daredevils, could pick up only 7 wickets in the 12 games he played, at an expensive economy of 8.39. With the success of Sun Risers Hyderabad bowler Bhuvneshwar, who picked up 20 wickets in 14 games, questions were soon asked about Shami’s ineffectiveness and whether he was another bowler who would fade away after the initial days of glory.

Maybe the pressure of leading the attack solely got to him. Maybe the poor form of the franchise (losing 9 consecutive matches) affected his morale and maybe the lack of a bowling beach who would advice the youngster on how to play in pressure situations affected him. Wasim Akram, the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, the former club of Shami, spills a few beans on the player.

“Shami is one of the laziest cricketers around. He constantly needs a hand on his shoulder, needs to be pestered around and constantly taken care of,” the Pakistani great said.

True, Delhi had the likes of Gary Kirsten, TA Sekar and Eric Simmons in their ranks, yet no one could correct his out-swingers, which found the knack of finishing a foot wider rather than remaining close to the off stump, which allowed the batsmen to free their arms and hit him for boundaries (which also explains his high economy rate).

Where did it go wrong?

The tour to England was going to be a litmus test for the inexperienced bowlers, ahead of the Australia series and the World Cup early next year. Ishant led India to victory in the 2nd match at Lord’s and Bhuvi was a revelation, picking up 18 wickets in 5 games.

Much was expected of Shami, but he flattered to deceive, picking up only 5 wickets in the 3 matches he played. He conceded 36 boundaries, bowled only 47 maidens in 315 overs and failed to build up pressure. He offered a lose ball every over, and was soon reduced to a state of helplessness. Even in the bowler friendly pitches of Lords, Shami was inconsistent with his length and another failure at Southampton, where he picked only 1 wicket, meant he was dropped for the last 2 Tests.

Sekar offers insight into Shami’s recent performances and says: “His line has not been consistent and he has been a bit wayward in his line and length. In my opinion, he needs some technical correction in his bowling action which is not allowing him now to bowl where he wants to. He is only able to put the ball where he could, he is unable to bowl the ball where he wants to, – there’s a big difference. That is due to his arm positioning at the time of delivery.”

Akram, while doing commentary for Star Sports in the recent series, compared the seam positions of England’s James Anderson and Shame during the 2nd Test match, and advised the Indian bowler to flick the ball and hit the deck harder.

Shami’s reverse swing, which fetched him 8 of the 9 wickets on his debut against WI, is no longer effective and the experts have noticed a change in his action and technique, which Sekar says needs to be resolved soon before his confidence takes a further dip.

The ODI series - a glimpse of the old Shami?

Shami was in the news more for his batting than his wicket taking ability – his best moment in the recently concluded Test series was his partnership of 111 runs with Bhuvi and it spoke volumes of how little he did with the ball. Further, he should have grasped his chance when Ishant was ruled out of the 3rd match, but instead he allowed himself to drift further away.

However, the ODI series which followed once again showed glimpses of the old Shami. He was bowling toe-breaking yorkers, holding his own in the death overs when the others went for plenty and he finally managed to overshadow his fast bowling partners, picking up 8 wickets in 4 games.

He conceded 34 runs in the last 5 overs in the last ODI and picked up 2 wickets and Dhoni was more than happy with his form stating, “India needs Shami to deliver. He is a great talent and he continues to impress me with his yorkers.”

Maybe, Shami is overworked considering he has bowled almost 3000 deliveries since last November. Maybe, he lacks confidence after a series of disappointments, but there is no denying that he, along with Bhuvneshwar, combine to provide the country a lethal bowling pair and it would be up to BCCI to help correct his flaws and get him to be the match-winner that he once promised to be.