Why Mohammad Shami is the weak link in the Indian Test bowling line-up

#2 Economy

England v India: Specsavers 4th Test - Day One

It is often said that the economy doesn't matter if a bowler is picking wickets. In the limited overs context, we've heard legendary captains say that a bowler who takes 3 wickets for 60 runs is more important than a bowler who takes 1 for 30. This is the reason why there is a resurgence of wrist spinners in the last 2-3 years in world Cricket. This is the reason why Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal get the nod over the experienced duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

There are times in a Test match when a bowling unit needs to attack and at times the bowling unit needs to defend. Shami's economy suggests that he struggles when the team needs him to provide a few quiet overs to help its cause.

In the recently concluded series against England, Shami bowled 173 overs over 10 innings and gave away 622 runs at an economy of 3.60 whilst other fast bowlers (Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav) bowled 308 overs giving away 876 runs at an economy of 2.84. To put things into perspective, the strike rate of English batsmen against Shami was 60 while their strike rate against other fast bowlers was 47.5. This means Shami gave away 1 run more than the others for every 8 balls bowled.

As a matter of fact, the much-maligned Umesh Yadav had an economy of 3.17 in the two innings he bowled.

If Shami was picking up wickets for fun, his economy rate would have been acceptable and selection in the team would have been justified. The fact is that he isn't (as discussed in the next slide) and he needs to be replaced.