Former India captain and ex-chairman of selection committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth has questioned the absence of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami from India’s T20 World Cup squad and said that the pacer would have been an ideal pick for the bouncy pitches of Australia.
Srikkanth feels that Shami could have provided with early breakthroughs with the new-ball in Australia, the host nation for the showpiece event.
“Mohammed Shami should have been there. You are playing in Australia. Shami can get bounce in Australia, he has a high-arm action. He can get the ball going away from the left-hander, going into the right-hander. In the first 3 overs, he can get 2-3 wickets,” Srikkanth told Star Sports.
“If I was the chairman of the selection committee, Shami would definitely be in the team. We are playing in Australia, the guy’s got the real action, the guy’s got bounce, he can bear the moment and he can get on early wickets, so I would have probably got Shami instead of Harshal Patel,” he added..
“Yes, Harshal Patel is a good bowler, no doubt about it, but Mohammad Shami is the right guy, I mean they can say not the scheme of things, he’s only for test cricket or one day cricket but we are playing in Australia. That guy has done well last IPL, so Shami is the must in my team,” he added.
Notably, Shami has been included as a standby play however, but he is not in the main squad. Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya are the fast-bowling options in the 15-member India squad.
Significantly, Shami, 32, hasn’t played a single T20I after India’s horrific ICC T20 World Cup campaign in the UAE in November 2021. However, Srikkanth said it’s unfair to leave the pacer out of the scheme of things in the shortest format of the game.