Mohammed Shami, one of the mainstays of the Indian pace attack, bowled a game-breaking spell and took five wickets in the World Cup encounter against New Zealand in Dharamsala. Incidentally, he was left out of the first four games of the tournament.
So, how did Shami keep himself in the right frame of mind when he had to warm the bench? “Personally, my outlook is to keep enjoying,” he said at the press conference after the match. “In India, the biggest sport is cricket. The biggest place is the place where you are sitting. It’s not necessary to be there [in the playing XI]. You have 15 players. Four of them have to stay out. So, by being positive and enjoying it, I feel you will get more results.
“So, I always think to myself, I am not here today, I will be here tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. They do come in rotation. And when your time comes, you contribute to the team. If your team is performing, your boys are moving in a rhythm, then I don’t think you should feel guilty sitting outside. Because you are also a part of the team and a part of the World Cup. I think everyone should enjoy each other’s success.”
Shami has left no stone unturned to keep himself fit. He invested his own money to build a training facility in his hometown. The idea flashed through Shami’s mind when lockdown was set to be imposed in India due to Covid-19. In 2020, Shami was also left out of the side after an ODI series against Australia.
“That’s a good thing, you read it,” he said in response to a query. “It’s very important, because I have prepared those facilities for myself and my younger brother who is playing from Bengal. I prepared them before the lockdown, because there was a lot of noise that lockdown was going to be imposed. I knew that there would be no scope to go anywhere, and it would not be safe to go anywhere, so I thought it would be better to build that facility at the farmhouse. I ordered everything quickly and got it ready in a month, so by the time lockdown was imposed, all the facilities were completed. I think there is a lot of benefit.”
One of the key features of India’s successful World Cup campaign so far has been bowlers bowling in tandem – be it pace bowlers or spinners. Even when Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra were dominating proceedings, India kept looking for wickets. Once the partnership was broken, the hosts made a fine comeback. In fact, in the last 10 overs, India gave away just 59 runs and took six wickets.
“When you talk about bonding, we have repeated so many times that you should always play as a unit, there are second and third partners,” said Shami. “We have repeated this a lot in the Test match as well. There were three people in the first unit, Siraj was also in it, Bumrah was also added. So, we have a good package. You get to see it. You get the pace. You get to see the aggression.
“As far as enjoying is concerned, I have told you before, that if you enjoy the success of others, you will get better results. And the medal of the dressing room as well. I believe we will get one today as well once we return to the dressing room.”