Asia Cup 2022: Ruling Out Mohammad Shami From India’s T20Is A ‘Wrong Thought Process’, Feels Virender Sehwag

Former India captain Virender Sehwag said that he was baffled to know that Mohammad Shami has been dropped from the selector’s consideration for India’s T20I plans going forward. He felt that the Indian team missed the experience of Shami in the Asia Cup 2022 in which they failed to make it into the finals.

India started off well in the tournament beating Pakistan and Hong Kong in the group stage to make it into the super 4s round. But then lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka to be knocked out of the race of finals of Asia Cup 2022.

One of the reasons for India’s performance was playing only three pacers in the main squad and Avesh Khan’s poor performance with the ball in initial matches. He went for 53 runs in his 4 overs against Hong Kong and was taken for runs against Pakistan as well.

Mohammad Shami Will Be Handy On Those Fast Pitches- Virender Sehwag On T20 World Cup In Australia

Meanwhile, many were baffled to know that BCCI had reportedly told Mohammad Shami, who last played in T20Is in the previous year’s T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE, that he would no longer be in their plans for the shortest format of international cricket, keeping his workload in Tests and ODIs in consideration.

However, Virender Sehwag explained why Shami will be more than handy in Australia, where this year’s T20 World Cup is set to take place.

Sehwag said on Cricbuzz: “It’s a wrong thought process (about Shami not being in T20I plans). Two years ago, even [Ravichandran] Ashwin wasn’t in your plans. But if your two bowlers were injured, you could have picked Shami for his experience in the Asia Cup. When Avesh was unavailable, Shami would have played. I understand you want to give youngsters a chance, but in Australia you also need experience. Shami will be handy on those fast pitches.”

Given the possibility of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel returning to action soon and knowing that Deepak Chahar has returned to full fitness, things look bleak for Shami as far as T20 World Cup 2022 chances are considered.

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