‘Shami suffered a long lay-off after his spectacular bowling performance during the 2023 ODI World Cup that contributed to India’s unbeaten run to the final. The ankle injury meant he required a subsequent operation and had to sit out for almost a year, which also made him miss India’s title success at the T20 World Cup 2024.’
He returned to domestic cricket in November and made a comeback to the Indian team in January this year. After he proved his fitness, the veteran paceman was included in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.
And on Thursday, Shami showed exactly why the team management wanted him fit and available for the tournament.
In the Champions Trophy opener in Dubai, Shami took on an excellent five-wicket haul-a performance that put him ahead of legendary Zaheer Khan as the Indian bowler with most wickets in ICC’s 50-over tournaments.
Shami now has 60 wickets in ICC events from only 19 innings, while Zaheer has 59 from 32.
In addition, he took the most wickets at the 2023 ODI World Cup, scoring 24 in only seven matches.
On being asked about the secret behind his success in ICC events, Shami stated that he gave very little thought to the economy rate as he always looks to take wickets.
“In ICC events, I don’t care about getting hit; I want to take wickets. I just go for wickets. I really don’t care about the economy at all. I spent eight hours in NCA. I had the hunger. Unless you have the hunger, you’re going to fail,” Shami said during a post-match press conference.
Shami confesses that after 14 long months, the return was tough–“It pinches. It hurts. But I got to practice domestic cricket, which helped build my performance,” he said.”
India beat Bangladesh by six wickets and will play their next Group A match on Sunday against Pakistan.
“Winning builds up your confidence. Against Pakistan, it will be the same mindset. No problems at all,” Shami said ahead of the big clash.
