T20 World Cup 2022: Why does India need Mohammed Shami?

It was puzzling that the pacer was selected for the T20I series against Australia and South Africa, whereas he was kept among reserves for the World Cup. But there are many reasons why Men in Blue needed Mohammed Shami to be in the squad.

An asset to complement Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the powerplay

In the recently concluded Asia Cup, we witnessed India struggle to take early breakthroughs in bowling. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar was terrific with the new ball, no other bowler could compliment him well in the power plays. 

With Mohammed Shami in the squad, he, along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, would have been an excellent bowling pair inside the power play, whereas Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel or Arshdeep Singh could have held death overs tight.  

His experience as a pacer

Mohammed Shami has vast experience in his international career playing in different conditions against opponents. Though he didn't have the best T20 World Cup in UAE, post that, he took 20 wickets with an economy of 8 for Gujarat Titans in IPL.

His experience and ability to rush batters on the front foot makes him a sure-fire candidate. The only criticism that held him back is that he bowls too much one-paced. 

"If you ask me who I will give the 19th over with 20-odd to defend, between Harshal, Arshdeep and Shami my choice will still be Shami. It's not because the others are bad, but Shami has the experience and he is definitely a handful in Australian conditions," said CSK bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji.

Apart from that, his experience could have acted as a cushion in case any other fellow pacers had a bad day against any team in a crucial encounter. He has been a match winner for India in Tests and can do it in T20s as well. 

Why should he be playing the two series against Australia and South Africa? 

Besides being included in reserves for the World Cup, he got a place in the squad for the series against Australia and South Africa. In the previous edition, he hasn't played any T20I after the World Cup fixture against Namibia.

While he was told after the end of last year's World Cup that he wouldn't feature for India in T20Is, injuries to main pacers and the struggle of young pacers in the Asia Cup have put him back into the scheme.

As he has not played any T20I in the last ten months, he needed to play the two series against Australia and South Africa to prove his worth in the limited pool of opportunities. But like before, his T20 career looks to be jinxed as he tested positive for Covid before the series against Australia.

Will Covid positive be a significant setback for him from the World Cup squad?

As the seamer is Covid positive, he hasn't travelled with team India to Mohali for the series against Australia and is now replaced by Umesh Yadav in the series. 

"Shami has tested positive. We have told Umesh Yadav to join the team," a BCCI official said.

It is a significant setback for Shami as he was in line to play his first T20I after last year's World Cup. His participation in the series against South Africa also remains doubtful and dependent on his recovery.