Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra while talking about India's pace unit for the upcoming T20 World Cup said that Mohammad Shami might not be an automatic pick as a seamer for the Virat Kohli-led side in the ICC tournament.
Mohammad Shami has always been a prolific bowler for Team India in the longest format of the game. In the recently concluded WTC final, he was the standout performer for Virat Kohli-led side as his four-wicket haul helped his side to stage a comeback against New Zealand in the first innings.
However, in the limited-overs format, Mohammad Shami has been somewhat inconsistent. In the 12 T20Is he has played for India, the speedster has scalped 12 wickets and has proved to be quite expensive, conceding runs an average of 9.80 runs per over and with the T20 World Cup ahead, there are many speculations about India’s bowling combination.
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In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was asked if Mohammad Shami could replicate his performance of the WTC final at the T20 World Cup.
Replying to which he said that Shami is not an automatic choice in the T20 format for Team India but if he performs well in five-Test series against England and the in IPL 2021, he can be a good choice.
"Shami is not an automatic choice. You want him to be there. He did well for Kings XI Punjab in Dubai but he was just about okay for Punjab Kings here. He was coming back from injury and did not have the rhythm.
"If you talk about T20, it is the one format where Shami doesn't walk into the team straightaway. But if the player keeps on doing well, he will play the five Tests and then the IPL, if he is carrying forward that form, of course, why not,” Aakash Chopra said.
Chopra pointed out that even though Mohammad Shami’s numbers in T20Is are alright but he’s not part of every T20 team and the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Deepak Chahar are ahead of him in the list.
"Shami's T20 numbers are alright. They haven't been extraordinary ever. And because of that, he is not part of every T20 team as well. Especially if you see this team, you will put Bumrah in this T20 Team without any hesitation.
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar are ahead of him on this list or standing at par. Then there will be T Natarajan. You will want to consider him as soon as he is fit and available," he said.
Aakash Chopra further said that his pecking order for India's T20 bowling would be Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar. He added that although Mohammad Shami will make his top-4, he won't play the pacer as first-choice.
"If I have to give my first three choices - Bumrah is No.1, Bhuvi is No.2, I am going with Deepak Chahar as No.3 and then I have got Shami at four. I have got Natarajan at five. But then Shardul Thakur is also there, there is actually a crowd - Siraj and Umesh are also there.
“But this will be my pecking order. Shami is there in my top four but he is not there in my first two. My first two will be Bumrah and Bhuvi and I will want to start with them only,” he concluded.
The ICC T20 World Cup is set to commence from October 17 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will culminate with the final on November 14.
