Mohammed Shami Is Not An Automatic Choice In India's T20 XI: Aakash Chopra

Former Indian opener-turned commentator Aakash Chopra believes that pacer Mohammed Shami is not a sure-shot pick in India’s playing 11 for the T20 World Cup.

Mohammed Shami was easily the pick of the Indian seamers during the recent WTC final against New Zealand.

Shami claimed a total of 4 wickets in the 1st innings and that promoted one of his fans to ask Aakash Chopra whether the right-arm seamer can emulate his exploits in the T20 World Cup later this year.

Chopra responded by saying that, unlike Tests and ODIs, Mohammed Shami doesn’t straightaway walk into the T20I playing 11 given his average record in the format.

The T20 World Cup will take place in UAE, where Shami did well for the Punjab Kings last year.

Chopra acknowledged that but also pointed out that Shami had a poor IPL 2021 campaign and if he has to force his way into the playing 11, he’ll have to perform really well in the upcoming Test series against England and the IPL, which will also take place in the UAE.

“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.” said Aakash Chopra in a video shared on his official Youtube channel.

“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,” he added.

‘They haven’t been extraordinary ever’- Aakash Chopra on Mohammed Shami’s T20 numbers

Mohammed Shami’s T20 numbers are average. He has played 71 IPL games in which he has claimed just 68 wickets at an average of 32.96 and a highly expensive economy rate of 8.81.

For India, Shami has played just 12 T20Is in which he has managed 12 wickets at an economy rate of 9.8.

”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.” said Chopra.

Chopra concluded by picking his pegging order of Indian seamers where he slotted Mohammed Shamj at the 4th spot with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Deepak Chahar preceding him.

”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.

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