The veteran Indian fast bowler, Mohammed Shami has opined that teams these days think a lot about what kind of surface to play on when they take on Virat Kohli and his men in the longest format of the game thanks to their outstanding fast-bowling unit. Shami is a part of the lethal pack of speedsters, along with Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Umesh Yadav, who has been crucial in India’s recent domination in red-ball cricket in the last few years.
Mohammed Shami said the Indian Test team never had a pool of four-five fast bowlers who are capable of bowling in excess of 140-145kph which is why the current team is so special.
During a recent chat with India News, Shami said, “The best thing about our bowling unit is that we have 4-5 pacers who can constantly bowl at over 140-145 clicks. You can find 1-2, but to find 4-5 is tough, and we have that. We force the opposition to think about what wickets they want to offer us.”
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He further added, “I don’t think we’ve had bowlers who could bowl at this pace earlier, we never had 4-5 of them coming in units. Earlier, teams used to plan easily against us but today they are forced to think otherwise.”
The 30-year-old, who will soon be plying his trade for India when the team will be locking horns with New Zealand in the ICC World Test Championship in Southampton from June 18, also explained his role in the side as a senior pacer. Apart from the quartet, India also has the young Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and Prasidh Krishna in teh squad for the long UK tour.
Elaborating the same, Mohammed Shami said, “As seniors, our duty is to tell the youngsters to ask us things freely. Overall, the atmosphere and camaraderie between the juniors and seniors are amazing. The thing is, all of us will have to leave the game someday but it is important to think about what we are leaving behind, for the team and the youngsters. It’s important to make your country, captain and the board proud.”
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Team India is currently undergoing hard quarantine in Mumbai and will leave for the United Kingdom in a chartered plane along with the women’s team next month. Both the squads are scheduled to reach England on June 3. India and New Zealand will be facing each other in the WTC final at the Ageas Bowl from June 18 after which they will face England in a 5-Test series from August 4.
