Good that our first Test series under new captain will be at home, says Mohammed Shami

01/29/2022

Ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka, Mohammed Shami has said that it is good that the first series under the new captain is at home, as the familiar conditions will ease the pressure. Shami further added that the players should focus on their individual performances to achieve good results.

India suffered a harrowing 1-2 defeat against South Africa in the three-match Test series, and ruled out the chances of clinching their first-ever Test series victory in the rainbow nation. A day after the series loss, Virat Kohli announced his decision to quit the Test captaincy, and the 33-year-old shocked the entire cricket fraternity with his statement.

Kohli had relinquished his T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup 2021, and later he was sacked from ODI leadership duties as the BCCI prefered a single skipper for the white-ball format. Rohit Sharma, who replaced Kohli as India ODI and T20I captain, is more likely to succeed the latter as Test skipper of the national team.

The BCCI is yet to announce the new Test skipper of Team India, and the selectors are expected to appoint the new leader ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in February.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami stated that it is good that the first Test series under the new captain will be held at home, as the familiar conditions will ease the pressure. Shami further added that he is not thinking about who takes the captaincy, but all that matters is the result.

"Of course, the team needs a leader (in Test cricket). Good that our first series (under the new captain) will be at home (against Sri Lanka next month), so familiarity with the conditions brings in some sort of a relief," Shami told Telegraph India.

"But if you ask me, I will be focusing more on how I fare and how the bowling unit performs as a whole. I'm really not thinking about who takes over the captaincy. We have Rohit (Sharma), while Ajinkya (Rahane) is there as well, but all that matters is the result," he added.

Shami reckoned that the players should focus on their individual performances to achieve greater results for the team.

"It's up to the individuals to focus more on their own performances and take bigger responsibility, as that leads to the results we expect," he concluded.

India's next assignment is against West Indies, where both teams will play three ODIs and as many T20Is.