Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has expressed his disappointment with Team India picking only three pacers in the side for the Asia Cup 2022. He said that it ‘baffles him to see quality pacers like Mohammad Shami sitting at home.
“You needed that extra one,” Ravi Shastri on India not taking Mohammad Shami to UAE
Indian Team has suffered a lot of criticism for their poor selection following their disappointing performances in the Super 4 stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022. They suffered two back-to-back losses, which shattered their chances of playing the final.
It’s fair to say that Indian bowling has let them down in both games and their template of selecting only three pacers in the side hasn’t worked for them. Fans and pundits have slammed them for this particular thing and also calls have been raised to bring Mohammad Shami back in the side.
Shikhar Dhawan and Mohammad Shami must be part of T20wc2022 #T20wc2022 #AsiaCupT20#INDvSL pic.twitter.com/QwxCT0Gc4D
Advertisement— M!tesh Chauhan (@Mitesh_Chauhan_) September 6, 2022
Shami has found himself out of the Indian side since the last T20 World Cup despite bowling decently. He had a staggering IPL 2022 as he was impressed with the new ball and also at the back end. The pacer took 20 wickets in 16 matches during IPL and was one of the main reasons behind Gujarat Titans winning the cup.
Speaking to Star Sports, Ravi Shastri said that India needed that extra pacer, and Shami was well suited for that role. He said:
“I was quite surprised that you came here with just four fast bowlers [including Deepak Chahar as a standby]. You needed that extra one. Someone like Mohammed Shami sitting at home baffles me after the IPL for him not making the cut.” he said.
Does Mohammad Shami deserve a place in the Indian T20I side?
Mohammad Shami has been one of the best Indian pacers to have played the game. While there’s no doubt about his ability as a player in ODI and Tests, there have been many speculations about his place in the T20 team.
Although he has been expensive at times in T20Is one cannot doubt his ability as a player. He has represented India in only 17 T20Is thus far and has scalped 18 wickets.
We missed Mohammad Shami at this time😔😔
And We'll Played Team India#INDvsPAK2022 #INDvsPAK #arshdeepsingh #Arshdeep #shami #HardikPandya #Hardik #ViratKohli #RohitSharma #chahal pic.twitter.com/3CS4oNxO04Advertisement— Rahul For PM 🇮🇳 (@Rahul_ForPM) September 4, 2022
But on his day he can rattle any top-quality team’s batting order and therefore he should be in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2022. He along with Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh could well form India’s pace attack in World Cup.
