The Duke Of Yorks

Mohammed Shami found his mojo back with an intense fitness regime.

- Qaiser Mohammad Ali

BEFORE in-form pacer Mohammed Shami embarked on the successful tour of Australia-New Zealand this January-February, he levelled the large mud field of his farmhouse in Amroha, marked a running track that also has provision for 50m and 100m sprints. This was part of his renewed, intense focus on fitness. The outcome is that Shami is being seen in a new avatar, having recovered from several injuries and overcome personal problems. The result of his new fitness regimen and simultaneous polishing of his bowling under the watchful eyes of his childhood coach, Badrruddin Siddiqui, in nearby Moradabad was seen during the four ODIs against New Zealand. He bagged nine wickets at a miserly average of 15.33, a performance that fetched him the man-of-the-series award. A little earlier, he had excelled in the four-Test series in Australia, where he captured 16 wickets at an impressive average of 26.19.

So, when Shami returned home from Down Under, his confidence had gone up several notches, he was highly motivated, and was charged up. He again hit the mud track, along with handpicked trainees of Siddiqui, to get ready for the home ODI series against Australia. Although he proved expensive in the four matches, the diminutive pacer was an automatic starter in the selectors’ World Cup XV that they were yet to pick. But for India’s initial World Cup matches, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was instead picked in the XI, while world No.1 Jasprit Bumrah was the other obvious choice. Then, Kumar got injured and Shami grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He snared three successive four-wicket hauls, including a hat-trick against Afghanistan. Till the Bangladesh game, he has 14 wickets in four matches.