ICC World Cup 2019 | I feel proud when people talk about India's bowling unit, says Mohammed Shami

ICC World Cup 2019 | I feel proud when people talk about India's bowling unit, says Mohammed Shami

no photo

|

BCCI

Mohammed Shami has stated that he feels proud about the fact that the Indian bowling unit is touted as one of the bests at the moment. The troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami form the Indian bowling attack for the World Cup along with spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

The Indian side is regarded as one of the favourites to win the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales, starting May 30 and a major credit for that goes to the bowling attack. India have traditionally been a heavy batting and weak bowling side but they have now developed into an all-round unit.Ā 

Jasprit Bumrah is the finest death overs bowler in world cricket at the moment, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also developed his death bowling skills apart from his swing bowling. They also possess a genuine fast bowler in Mohammed Shami who can swing the ball at top pace and has also displayed his fiery yorkers in this yearā€™s Indian Premier League. Add to that, the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal apart from the all-rounders, the other teams will be wary of Indiaā€™s bowling, as pointed out by Shami himself.

"The best part (about Indiaā€™s bowling attack) is that along with variety, we have an attack that can bowl fast. Having skills and pace together is the USP of this side as that somewhere increases the confidence of the attack. To be honest, it is like a dream that has come true and I feel very proud that today people talk about our bowling unit as one of the best -- a thing that wasn't heard much, but is now called our strength," he explained, reported IANS.

"In the last 20 or 30 years, if you look back at the history of Indian cricket, it has always been dominated by the batsmen. You cannot really blame the bowlers because the wickets that were prepared in India were also not helpful towards the bowlers. Things have started improving in the last five to seven years and to be honest it has been a process and not something that has happened overnight. We have been bowling as a unit and that helps,ā€ added the 28-year-old.

Shami had a frequent run-in with injuries which had hampered his career in the start, however, he shed about eight kilos of weight and has been fit like a horse in recent times. The pacer also revealed that he is extremely transparent about his fitness to the team physiotherapist and doctor which has helped.

"I don't believe in making too many changes and neither do I underwork or overwork my body. Had been constantly in touch with the physio and whatever I feel, I always tell the physio honestly so that the team doesn't suffer. No team should suffer due to an individual. So, I believe it is important that you keep a transparent relation with the doctor and physio in the team so that they know how exactly the body is working. This understanding in the Indian team is really good and that helps," he expressed.

Shami has been a regular feature in the Test squad since his debut in 2013 but hardly played any ODI games in 2017 and 2018. The Bengal pacer had featured in 17 games in the longest format during this two year period but had only played five ODIs. He was slowly being labelled as a Test match bowler but that changed as he picked up five wickets in three one dayers in his comeback series in Australia earlier their year. He followed it up with nine wickets in four matches in New Zealand and then five wickets in four matches of the home series against Australia as well. He even emerged as the highest wicket-taker for his Indian Premier League franchise Kings XI Punjab with 19 wickets in 14 matches.

"I hadn't been playing white-ball cricket for a while but in the series against Australia, I gained in confidence and just looked to keep that going even in the IPL. Also, playing consistently for KXIP helped me. Getting to play day-in day-out helps you perform and get the right momentum,ā€ reckoned the Uttar Pradesh born player.

"I was just waiting for an opportunity as I had a good record in white-ball cricket. Waited for almost two years and I had it in mind that when I did get the chance, I will show what I could do. Always knew that I can adapt to the shorter format and bowl the line and length required to succeed," he signed off.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all