Veteran pacer Mohammad Shami has been a star performer for India in the last three editions of ODI World Cup. His tally of 55 wickets is the third best by an Asian bowler and fifth overall in the World Cup history.
Moreover, Shami is only bowler to have taken four five-wicket hauls in World Cups. Hence, it is quite shocking that he wasn’t picked in India’s playing XI for all the matches across the last three editions of the ICC tournament.
Notably, the Men in Blue played 28 matches in the last three World Cups and Shami appeared in just 18 of them.
Akin to 2023, Shami warmed the bench for the first four group games in the 2019 World Cup, where India were led by Virat Kohli and coached by Ravi Shastri.
Shami was picked for the fifth match against Afghanistan, where he claimed a hat-trick and followed it with a five-wicket haul against eventual champions England.
However, after four appearances, where he picked up 14 scalps, Shami was rested for the final group fixture against Sri Lanka before being overlooked for the semifinal, which India lost to New Zealand by 18 runs.
Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube podcast, Shami admitted that he was taken aback by the team management's decision in 2019.
“In 2019 I did not play the first 4-5 games. In the next game, I took a hat-trick, then picked up a five-wicket haul and then four wickets in the next game. A similar happened in 2023. I did not play in the first few games and then picked a fifer, then four wickets and then a five-wicket haul again,” Shami said.
“The one thing I keep wondering is every team needs players who can perform well. I took 13 wickets in three matches. What more do you expect from me? I neither have questions nor do I have answers. I can only prove myself when I get the opportunity. You gave me a chance, and I took 13 wickets in three matches. Then we lost to New Zealand. Played four matches overall and picked 14 wickets. In 2023, I picked 24 wickets in seven matches,” he added.
Mohammad Shami was the leading wicket-taker during the 2023 World Cup, claiming 24 wickets from seven out of India’s 11 matches at an incredible average of 10.70, which included three five-wicket hauls.
Following the World Cup at home, the right-arm quick underwent an operation on his Achilles tendon. As a result, he missed the home Test series against England, followed by the IPL and the T20 World Cup.
Shami is likely to make a comeback in the home series against Bangladesh. India will host Bangladesh for two Tests and three T20 Internationals in September-October.
