IPL 2019 | My target is to win the IPL and then the World Cup, says Mohammed Shami

28-year old India pacer Mohammed Shami has had a tough time over the last year or so ever since his domestic dispute with wife Hasin Jahan was dragged into the public domain. On 9 March 2018, Jahan lodged an FIR against Shami and his family members citing domestic violence and adultery. In addition to that, Shami was charged for attempted murder, rape and adultery by his wife. Hasin had also levelled allegations of match-fixing against the bowler.

As a result of all this, BCCI withheld Shami from their national contracts list. However, on March 22 last year, the BCCI cleared Shami's central contract after its Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) cleared him of corruption charges. Since then, the Bengal pacer has found himself a mainstay in the Indian limited-overs team under Virat Kohli.

In a recent interview with India Today, Shami revealed that his only focus is on winning the ongoing IPL with the Kings XI Punjab franchise followed by winning the ICC ODI World Cup with the national team.

"I hope everything remains fine. Whatever is the outcome, I am ready to face it. Cricket life mein hai to sab kuch hai (cricket remains everything in life). That is the only thing I am bothered about. I don't care about the allegations or what will happen eventually. Right now, I am not thinking even zero percent about it. I won't let it affect me. My target is to win the IPL for Kings XI Punjab and then the World Cup for the country," said Shami in an exclusive interview to India Today.

As per the charge sheet submitted by Kolkata Police, Shami has been charged under sections 498A (dowry harassment) and 354A (sexual harassment). The former Delhi Daredevils pacer added that he has been through a lot in the last 18 months.

"I have reached this stage after a lot of hard work. The stress that I have gone through, the pressure that I have faced in the last 18 months is unexplainable. I was full of negative thoughts and cricket was the last thing on my mind. My problems had risen to an alarming level and the entire family was trapped in between.

"I always believed that a happy family life results in a good showing for the country. In the midst of all this controversy, while sitting with my family one day, I thought that the world knows me because of cricket so everything else should be kept aside. I told myself that come what may, I should resume playing cricket. That's why I started practicing almost a fortnight after the entire controversy and even joined my then IPL team. I chose cricket, my first love and was able to keep aside things which were giving me sleepless nights. I kept fighting even after being involved in two accidents. Many people tried to reignite old issues but I kept ignoring everything," Shami added.

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