Mohammed Shami is currently arguably one of the best pacers in the world across conditions. The Indian star has been an integral part of the team’s success in Test, especially under the leadership of Virat Kohli. The Indian pace attack rise has been a legendary one in the last five years, comprising the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and lately Mohammed Siraj.
Ishant Sharma, recently shed light on watching Shami for the first time in team India nets. A decade ago, a bowler from West Bengal impressed former India captain MS Dhoni in the nets and the rest is history.
“I had heard of a bowler from West Bengal who had a lot of pace, meaning he was very skiddy. His run-up looks normal but he bowled with a lot of pace. So when we saw him on the net, Mahi Bhai said, “Wow, he is good”,”
Ishant said in the ‘Rise of New India’ show on Cricbuzz.
Shami went on to make his Test debut for India at the Eden Gardens against West Indies in 2013 and picked up nine wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings.
Despite being an absolute hero with the ball on the field, he had to go through some really tough times in his personal life. The biggest setback came back in 2018, when his estranged wife Hasin Jahan leveled various allegations against Shami, including ones of being involved in match-fixing.
BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit approached all the players in the Indian team to investigate the matter. On being asked if Shami could do match fixing or not, Ishant said:
”I don’t know his personal things, but I’m 200 per cent sure he can’t do that because I know him that well.”
Shami has claimed 219 wickets in 166 innings in the Test, including 159 and 24 wickets in the ODI and T20Is, respectively. He is currently playing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia. The hosts won the first test by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur, and the second Test is scheduled to begin on February 17 in Delhi.
