Ravi Shastri Slams Rohit Sharma And Rahul Dravid Led Team Management For Ignoring Mohammed Shami, Says It's Unfair On The Pacer

Former Indian Head Coach Ravi Shastri has come down hard on the current Indian management led by Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid for ignoring Mohammed Shami completely in the T20I setup. Notably, Shami hasn’t played a single T20I after team India’s horrific debacle in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE.

Since the end of the last T20 World Cup, the current Indian team management, which also rose to power after the T20 World Cup last year, has left out Mohammed Shami from the T20 setup.  He did not feature in the home series against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and South Africa. Shami wasn’t picked for the away series for Ireland, England, and West Indies too.

Ravi Shastri Unhappy With Mohammed Shami Being Sidelined From The Indian T20I Setup:

While commentating during the 2nd innings of the India vs Sri Lanka Super4 match of Asia Cup 2022, Ravi Shastri showed his displeasure on Mohammed Shami being completely sidelined from the Indian T20I setup. Shastri said that the team management and selectors should have looked at Shami after this year’s IPL outing.

“I am completely amazed to see how Mohammed Shami has been sidelined by the current Indian team management and the selectors. The Indian bowling hasn’t looked that effective in this year’s Asia Cup and a veteran like Shami should have certainly made it to the squad,” Ravi Shastri said.

“We saw how due to the presence of dew in the last T20 World Cup, spinner became completely ineffective and hence, he could have been a great choice for the Asia Cup in 2022. Especially, after how his IPL went for Gujarat Titans this year, he should’ve certainly been a part of the think tank,”  Shastri added.

Mohammed Shami Had A Decent Outing In IPL 2022

Shami was picked by the Gujarat Titans franchise for IPL 2022. He picked the first wicket of the tournament this year and Ashish Nehra and Hardik Pandya used him effectively in the beginning overs and in the middle overs too. Shami didn’t bowl a lot of overs in the death for Gujarat Titans but still managed to pick up wickets.

In the 16 matches he played this season, Shami picked up 20 wickets at an average of 24.40 and with an economy rate of 8. oo. He was the leading wicket-taker for his team, even ahead of Rashid Khan, the Afghan leg-spinner. Shami finished 6th in the Purple Cap race and was the 3rd highest wicket-taking pacer in the tournament.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: Avesh Khan Ruled Out Of The Remainder Of The Tournament, Deepak Chahar Added To Main Squad – Reports