Former Indian Cricketer Piyush Chawla suggests Mohammed Shami to be included in the playing 11 of the upcoming World Cup 2023.
Piyush Chawla suggests Shami over Thakur
With less than 15 days before the World Cup, India is at a crucial stage of preparing for the tournament. India has recently completed its Asia Cup Campaign extending its record with most Asia Cup titles.
India is currently playing a three-match ODI series against Australia where India won the first ODI match by 5 wickets. With the second match scheduled on September 24, India is working on giving all the players the necessary game time before the marquee event.
Indian bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj are performing well in recent games. Shardul Thakur was preferred over Shami in the playing 11 of the World Cup squad, so he can help with the bat in the low order.
On this occasion, Piyush Chawla questioned on Shardul Thakur’s place with his high economy in bowling. He highlights the need for a bowler with higher consistency in pace on flat wickets.
He said, “If we talk about Shardul’s batting, it’s not that he is somebody who will come and give you those quick fire 30, 40 runs off 20 balls. He’s a good player for a run-a-ball or sometimes maybe like 20-ball 25 runs.
“And if you talk about his bowling, I agree that he has picked up wickets and he has got quite a few of them. But his economy rate is always on the higher side,” told Chawla.
“Also, if you talk about the conditions where India is going to play, most of the wicket is going to be a bit flat. So you need somebody who’s like a proper bowler, who can come in one change and still bowl at the 135-140 mark,” he added.
Shami had his career-best bowling figures of 5 for 51 at the first ODI match against Australia on September 22. But Shardul Thakur wasn’t able to pick wickets in his 10-over quota. He suggested Mohammad Shami for the position and said his skills work better regardless of pitch conditions.
He was awarded with the player of the match in the first ODI match at PCA stadium. “The best part was the way he was bowling on that particular pitch and the way he hit those hard lengths. He is someone who keeps things very simple no matter how the wicket is or whether he is playing with the red ball or white ball.
“He is somebody who bowls with an upright seam and you need this kind of seam position when you bowl on these kinds of tracks,” he concluded.
India is set to play their first match of the ODI World Cup against Australia on October 8 at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
