NZ v IND 2019: Sanjay Manjrekar calls Mohammad Shami India's third pacer for World Cup 2019

Manjrekar is impressed with Shami's performance since the Australia tour.

Mohammad Shami | GETTY

Indian pacer Mohammad Shami was hardly preferred for the limited-overs format as India already had a couple of talented pacers to go with. But they decided to try Shami in ODIs and rested their frontline pacer Jasprit Bumrah for the series against Australia. He looked good there and since then his performance has been different.

In the first ODI against New Zealand, Shami bagged the Man of the Match award for his superb bowling show. He picked up three wickets and laid the foundation of victory for the tourists.

Cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar is delighted with the way Shami has bowled lately. He already believes the 28-year-old is good to be India's third pacer in the World Cup 2019. 

"We were getting obsessed with that middle -order fragility and trying to find solutions for that. people took their eye off from the seam bowling department because Bumrah is there as one constant leading the attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar because of his injuries was not quite 100 percent. The bowling attack looked a little with weak with experiments with Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed, before Shami's Test match form prompted them to play in the ODIs and he has been a revelation since then" said Manjrekar.

Sanjay also added that Shami will now provide flexibility to the Indian bowling attack by picking up wickets in the middle overs. 

Against Australia, Shami picked up five wickets. He went wicketless in the first ODI but bagged 3/58 and 2/47 in last two matches. 

(With ESPN Cricinfo Inputs)

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 26 Jan, 2019

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