The focus is clearly on Mohammed Shami. More so in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. With Mohammed Siraj for company, Shami will have to lead the Indian attack at The Oval, and much will depend on him picking wickets and pushing Australia back. Shami, every cricket fan would agree, has all the skill required to do so. He has pace and can get serious movement up front. He can also bowl with the old ball, and has great control over line and length. And with The Oval offering bounce, conditions will certainly suit Shami’s style of bowling.
“Mohammed Shami is getting better and better with age,” says Gideon Haigh, Australia’s premier cricket writer. “With fast bowlers, they tend to taper off after a certain age but with him it seems to be different. He still has real pace, and the seam position is still fantastic. And now, he seems to be fitter and more lethal.”
If the IPL is any index, Shami is in rhythm. And in conditions that will suit him, he can easily run through a line-up on his day, something Rohit Sharma will hope happens at The Oval.
Shami, who has been one of India’s best bowlers in the last decade, also knows how to handle pressure. He has dealt with trolls, and has often been at the receiving end of abuse. Such things don’t bother him anymore, and he knows why he is in the team and what his job is. In fact, he had alluded to this in an interview with us earlier when he had said, “I want to perform for the team in all formats. I am not bothered about the colour of the ball. Any time the selectors, coaching staff, and captain show faith by giving the ball to me, all I want to do is to fulfill my responsibility as a bowler. I don’t think too much about records and all, or which format I am playing more. If you are playing for India, you have to give your best. That’s it.”
What has also worked for Shami is the effort he has put in each time he has had time off. The fact that he is in such great rhythm is a testimony to his dedication over time. “It isn’t rocket science,” he once said. “You have to keep practicing. At times, we practice hard before a tournament or during the tournament but once we come back home, we tend to take a break. I feel these breaks don’t really help. Rather it breaks one’s rhythm.
When back from a tour, one should work on their skill more seriously, and that’s exactly what I do. I have set up my own training area next to my house, and I can bowl as much as I want and I can train as much as I want without any problem. During tournament breaks, I practice every day till I am satisfied that I have trained enough for the day. This has helped me a lot.”
The other thing that gives Shami confidence is that the bowlers have now played with each other for a while now and can back each other up in tough situations. “It gives us immense confidence to think that everyone believes that we, as a bowling unit, can defend any score,” he said. “All the bowlers in the line-up have been fantastic for the past two years. Since we have defended quite a few low scores, we are generally confident when asked to defend any particular total.
Also, not only our bowling unit, but our batting unit is very good. So, in our minds, we know if our batting unit hasn’t been able to score a certain amount of runs, the opponents will find it difficult to score as well. This motivates us to do better and push our limits every single time. Our main advantage as a bowling unit is that we have been playing together for quite a while now, and hence we know each other well. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and which bowler is capable of delivering what in any given situation.”
The one thing that hasn’t really gone for Shami in the last few years in Test cricket is luck. He has beaten the bat a huge number of times, but been unlucky to not get the edges. But then, he isn’t perturbed and it’s this spirit that keeps him going.
“It’s my job to bowl well,” he said. “My job is to test the batters at all times. Yes, it is frustrating, and one has to be patient. Ultimately, every bowler needs a bit of luck and I feel you will get the wickets which you are destined to get if you keep bowling well. Hence, I concentrate on challenging the batters. The seam position that people talk about hasn’t happened in a day, a lot of hard work has gone behind it. My way of handling pressure and frustration is to laugh it off.
“You must have seen it even during matches that if I go past the edge of a batter or someone drops a catch off my bowling, I laugh it off. I won’t be able to bowl well if I become frustrated or let the pressure get to me. So, I just try to laugh it off and continue bowling in the channels that I am supposed to hit to put the batters under pressure.”
Now it is time to get all this practice together and deliver for India on the biggest stage. India desperately needs a world title, and, in Bumrah’s absence, the onus will be on Shami to stand up and make a difference.