ICC World Cup 2019 | Mohammed Shami leaking runs at crucial times is a concern for India, states Joy Bhattacharjya
Joy Bhattacharjya has said that Mohammed Shami’s tendency to give away too many runs in important overs and towards the death can cost India going ahead. However, Robin Uthappa, while agreeing with the statement, felt that Shami was a proven wicket-taker and crucial to the team’s plans.
Mohammed Shami has been an inspired change for the Indian team and has provided an extra impetus to the side ever since he has come in. He has already been making records for the team, be it taking a five-wicket haul or clinching a crucial hattrick in the quadrennial tournament. However, while he has played the role of breaking partnerships, he has also been a bit uneconomical. Against England, he gave away 69 runs in his allocated 10 overs but produced even worse figures against Bangladesh as he was hit all around the park for 68 runs in just nine overs.
“Today , they tried to bowl Shami through and whenever they bowled him in crucial areas, he just didn’t seem to be able to stop the flow of runs. And that’s something that will concern team India. If they ever come down to a choice to have a spinner back, it would be a very tough one to make,” renowned cricket analyst Joy Bhattacharjya said in a podcast for Cricbuzz.
However, the fact that he has 14 wickets in four matches, including three four-wicket hauls and at an excellent average of 13.79 makes it seem that he has been doing his job. His hattrick against Afghanistan helped India out of from a tough spot and won the match for them before his four wickets against West Indies completely obliterated their batting lineup. He even picked up five scalps against England though it ended up in a losing cause.
“He is the highest wicket-taker for India, there is no way they are going to drop him. He has been the most attacking bowler who has gone out there in all the games, barring this one and got wickets at regular intervals. I think he has got 15 wickets,” Robin Uthappa stated in the same podcast.
Initially brought into the starting lineup as a replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the latter has recovered now and was played alongside Shami in the match against Bangladesh. Kumar has been very impressive himself and India had to sacrifice spinner Kuldeep Yadav to play the three seamers together. However, if they are to play in a spin favouring pitch, they’ll have to choose between the two and Uthappa feels the Men in Blue might just go with Shami.
“Yes, he was expensive today, maybe because of the way he turned up. Maybe he felt a bit more relaxed and wasn’t keyed on. He is different bowler when he is keyed on, when he wants to do something. When he makes up his mind, he is a very different bowler. Today, his body language and energy seemed a bit more relaxed. Maybe Shami took his foot off the pedal today, but Bumrah made up for it,” Uthappa said on the matter.
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