JOIN USAce in India's pace pack
One of the most fascinating sights in cricket unfolded a fortnight ago in Visakhapatnam. After testing Alastair Cook with a probing opening over where he swung the ball away mostly, India pacer Mohammad Shami bowled a peach in the second over. He got one to nip back and the ball — missile like — crashed through the defences of the English skipper, breaking his off-stump into two.
A dejected Cook trudged back to the dressing room while a delighted Shami celebrated with his mates. The stump shattered into two pieces was a sight to behold. Not many bowlers posses such a postcard but Shami can now plaster it in his bedroom. It’s one of those visions he could only have dreamt about when he was confined to the bed 16 months ago.
Playing through serious pain in the 2015 World Cup where he emerged as India's second highest wicket-taker (17), Shami had punished his left knee so much that it needed surgery. The operation, like any, was extremely painful — physically and mentally. He was confined to the bed for nearly two months. By his own admission, the only place he was allowed to walk was the bathroom as the doctors advised him against keeping his foot on the ground. Even painful than the crutches was that he was unable to tend to his pregnant wife. Words of comfort from friends, family and team-mates kept his spirits up.
Totally undeterred, Shami believed he could return despite staring at an uncertain future. Soon after the crutches came off, he started planning his comeback. He targeted South Africa’s tour to India last November but it was more wishful thinking. He was picked for the limited-overs tour of Australia this January but a hamstring injury forced him out and he subsequently missed the Asia Cup and the all important World T20.
But none of those setbacks pulled him down and he finally wore India colours again for the tour of the West Indies this July. Bowling with increased pace and procuring wicked swing — convention and reverse — Shami was a man on a mission. On slow pitches that aided spin more than pace, Shami blended craft with pace to return with 11 wickets — second best behind Ravichandran Ashwin (17). Against the visiting New Zealand in September-October, the 26-year-old picked up eight wickets. In the ongoing series against England, he’s already scalped 10 wickets.
The biggest positive in Shami’s comeback story is his ability to pick up wickets whenever skipper Virat Kohli wants him to. While he hardly unleashes the yorker, he sets up batsmen with swing, skiddy pace and bounce, like he undid Cook in the second Test and Chris Woakes in the just completed third Test at Mohali. With the second new ball in his hand, he banged one short and Woakes, attempting a pull shot, completely missed it and the ball crashed into his earpiece. Disturbingly, Woakes saw his neck protector flying as well. While Woakes appeared totally rattled, Shami was remorseless. He banged the next ball too short and Woakes, trying to fend off, ended up edging to wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.
“The first thing I see in Shami is his willingness,” former India speedster Javagal Srinath told DH. “He’s brilliant in those second and third spells. That's the time when a captain needs wickets and Shami has been able to do that successfully more often than not. The way he goes about his business, he appears very connected to the game. He’s hardly lacking in concentration and effort. To be a fast bowler, you need heart and Shami has got plenty of it. If you don't have the heart and don't bend your back, then you won't get the desired results.
“Shami has also matured well. He made his debut in 2013 but has learnt the knack to pick up wickets very quickly. He knows where to bowl, when to take the ball away from the batsman, when to bring it in and when to bounce him out. He knows how to unsettle even a good batsman. He’s very good with reverse swing, which is very important in Indian conditions. Whenever he’s in the attack, something happens. Taking wickets is all about setting a batsmen up and he’s learnt that craft very well. He’s a fast-learning fast bowler,” added Srinath, who represented India in 67 Tests and 229 ODIs over a 11-year long career.
Shami, who excels with both the new and the old ball, has also been able to take enormous workload since his return. In West Indies he hurled down 93 overs, against New Zealand he sent down 75.1 overs while he’s already touched 103 in the current series against England. “He’s stronger now,” remarked Kohli. “He had to train that extra bit because it was a knee injury. He came back, trained really hard, really precise with his training and he is rushing in much more now and he is able to sustain that energy now for a four-five good overs and he’s bowling long spells.
“He’s become more aware of what he wants to do and what he has to do to be a good Test bowler. He’s getting those important breakthroughs. Both Umesh (Yadav) and he have bowled over 145 kph consistently and on these (Indian) pitches to not lose heart and keep coming in and running in and bouncing guys, I think speaks a lot of their character. I’m only waiting to play on pitches that assist them a little bit and it’ll be nice to see what they can do there as well.”
Srinath reckoned a fast bowler peaks from 26-30. That's the age where one attains reasonable experience and has the strength in his body to do what his mind wants. Shami has got the speed, swing and intelligence. Most importantly, he’s got the heart of a lion.
Shamistats
Overall
M: 22; W: 76; BBI: 5/47; BBM: 9/118; 5W: 2; Avg: 32.60; SR: 56.60
In 2016
M: 10; W: 29; BBI: 4/66; Avg: 26.86; SR: 56.1
From 2013-2015
M: 12; W: 47; BBI: 5/47; Avg: 36.14; SR: 57.00
Read as: M -- matches; W -- wickets; BBI: best bowling in an innings; BBM -- best bowling in a match; Avg -- average; SR -- strike rate.