Former Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra talked about Mohammad Shami’s chances of playing in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. He said that the pacer is not in the plans of the Indian selectors for the marquee tournament for time being.
The T20 World Cup 2022 is just a few months away now and there’s no doubt that Indian selectors will have a dilemma about who to choose and who not to. Talking about Shami, the right-arm pacer hasn’t featured in the T20I squad after T20 World Cup 2021.
Shami’s performance was below-par in the tournament and after that, he failed to make cut into the Indian T20I side. With young pacers extremely doing well in the side, there are lot of speculations about whether the senior pacer will be in the team or not.
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Speaking to Cricbuzz, Ashish Nehra believes that Mohammad Shami doesn’t seem to be in the plans of selectors for the T20 World Cup 2022. And said that being the ace bowler, the Bengal pacer should be considered for the Cricket World Cup 2023.
“It seems like he is not in the plans at the moment (for T20 World Cup). But, if the management needs Shami, we all know his abilities as a bowler. I can understand if he doesn't play the T20 World Cup. He will continue to play Test cricket, and even if you want to give chance to young players, they should definitely consider him for the the 50-over World Cup next year," Ashish Nehra said.
Nehra highlighted that India should play Shami in the ODI series against ‘top-quality’ England.
"We don't have many ODIs this year and Shami is on a break at the moment after IPL. India can play him in England for the 50-over games after the Test match. You will play three ODI games against a top-quality white-ball team like England, and you would definitely love to beat them. And for that, you need to your best bowlers. I would definitely take Shami in that bracket," he said.
Shami will be next seen in action when India will play the rescheduled fifth Test match against England in July. He’s likely to play a key role for his side as the visitors would look to script history.
(Cricbuzz inputs)