India will play six Test matches on England tour including the ICC World Test Championship final.
India speedster Mohammad Shami is looking to give his best performance in the upcoming United Kingdom (UK) tour. India will first play the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, before facing England in a five-match Test series in the UK.
Shami is eyeing the milestone of 200 Test wickets on the tour and he's currently 20 scalps short of the achievement. Being one of the prime fast bowlers in the team, he is expected to be the first-choice pacer along with Jasprit Bumrah and veteran pacer Ishant Sharma.
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“I haven't targeted something like this but yes, I won't give up on it on this tour because we will be playing 6 Tests over there. I should at least cross that milestone (of 200 Test wickets) on this tour because the conditions are good for bowling, I just need to use my skills well. I will be trying my best to cross the 200-wickets mark,” Shami told Sports Tak.
Shami has played 8 Test matches in England and picked up 21 wickets at an average of 47.05 and strike rate of 76.76. He is hopeful of an improvement with the experience of two England tours in the past. His best performance in England is 4/57 which came at The Rose Bowl in 2018.
The 30-year-old hasn't played a Test match this year. He last featured in the team for a Test match on the Australia tour last year. The speedster was injured in the Adelaide Test and got ruled out of the last three Test matches.
Shami returned to cricket after completing rehab at National Cricket Academy (NCA). “I don't put too much pressure on myself when I get injured or when I'm not able to play because of some reason. Injuries are a part and parcel of the sport, you cannot run away from it. You have to be mentally strong,” Shami said.
“You should always look to move forward with your current form and rhythm. Before IPL 2021, I was at the NCA for 1.5 months where I bowled by heart out. Then I got good confidence from the IPL, settled into a good rhythm.
“I always try to work as much as I can on my rhythm and look to tighten my skill-set as much as possible. Getting injured is a part of the game, I don't think too much about it,” he added.
(With India Today Inputs)