“Favourites hum hi hai (we are the favorites), Mohammed Shami said, when he was asked about who would be the favourites in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India have won back-to-back Test series Down Under and they will carry the confidence, when they tour Australia for a five-match series in the winter. And Shami believes India would be the favourites, not the other way round.
“Chinta unhe honi chahiye, hume nahi (they should be worried about us), said Shami. “We have have won in Australia on the last two occasions.”
Shami also fired a thinly-veiled warning to Bangladesh ahead of their two-Test series that starts in Chennai on September 19. “India are a different ball game,” he said. Bangladesh are riding high after clean-sweeping Pakistan 2-0 in their lair.
Shami will not be part of the Indian team for the upcoming series, still doing rehab after an Achilles tendon surgery earlier this year. But the veteran fast bowler reminded the tourists about India’s record at home. To put things in perspective, India haven’t lost a home Test series since 2012.
“Bangladesh beating Pakistan is one thing,” Shami told reporters on the sidelines of the Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB) Annual Awards Ceremony on Saturday. “Beating India requires a different skill-set. Bangladesh will have to think about India’s record (at home). How well the (Indian) team has been playing. About India’s current performance. A Test match is played over five days and you have to win all the sessions to win the game.”
Sourav Ganguly concurred. “It will be tough here for Bangladesh,” said the former India captain. “With due respect, Pakistan and India are different. Home or away, India are a different proposition.”
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Meanwhile, Shami was asked about his comeback. He hasn’t played any cricket after the 50-over World Cup final against Australia last year. The 34-year-old, however, said he wouldn’t be rushing things. “I’m trying to return to the fold soon,” said Shami. “I know I have been out of the team for a while. At the same time, I want to come back only when I feel 100 per cent. I won’t return until there’s even a semblance of doubt. I don’t want to take any chances. I have started bowling (at the nets). I am currently focusing on strength-building. I haven’t set any target, whether the comeback will be against Bangladesh, New Zealand or Australia.”
At 34, Shami isn’t getting any younger. Not surprisingly, there are a few question marks surrounding Shami’s future, especially in the backdrop of the pace bowler suffering a serious injury. Shami, however, sounded confident, and took a trip down the memory lane to explain how a highly motivated sportsperson can overcome the pain barrier and achieve his goal.
“During the 2015 World Cup and again the 2023 World Cup, I was carrying injuries,” he noted. “There was pain in my heel, but the only question I asked doctors was that how confident were they that I wouldn’t collapse in the middle of a game. I was not ready to let my team suffer by breaking down, and that was the only concern. When they said I would need to bear the pain, I was fine with it. My threshold is very high, and I know I can play with pain. You don’t often get an opportunity to play a World Cup on home soil and do well.
“I needed to make the opportunity count and did not want to regret it later. I was ready to sacrifice a few months after the World Cup if I was able to serve my country during the tournament. Yahi baat hai. Aapko self-doubt nahi hona chahiye. Agar aap khud pe believe karte ho and you know ki aap yeh cheez kar sakte ho, aap zarur kar paoge [That’s the thing. You shouldn’t have self-doubt. If you believe in yourself and think you can do something, you will definitely do it]. You have to work the hardest to do so, but there is no doubt you will be able to. And that’s why there should never be self-doubt when you want something badly.”
Incidentally, a fortnight ago, CAB president Snehasish Ganguly told RevSportz that based on his conversation with Shami, the state association included the quick in the list of Bengal probables for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. “Yes, I had a conversation with him (Shami). Accordingly, we have included him in the Bengal probables. He told me he would play a couple of matches (against Uttar Pradesh followed by a home fixture against Bihar),” Snehasish had said.
Shami, though, remained coy when he was asked about this. “I always like to play for Bengal,” he said.
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