ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 ended up with, perhaps, one of the biggest shocks for the Indian people. But the tournament left them with many joyous moments of success to cherish for years to come. Mohammed Shami, the Indian speedstar everyone is talking about, is one of the reasons behind those eternally cherishable memories as his career was, to put in simple words, resurrected and redefined in the tournament.
But the story isn’t all happy, chirpy and lucky. It’s not just filled with extreme hard work and exhausting discipline, but also with long thorns that could easily stop all these from happening in the first place. For one, Shami wasn’t even in the playing eleven of the Indian team in the world cup to begin with. And yet, he turned out to be the trump card in Rohit Sharma’s stock.
Story Before the ODI World Cup 2023
Expulsion from the World Cup 2019 Team
The 2023 World Cup isn’t the only time when Mohammed Shami wasn’t allowed to play the entire tournament. He was dropped from the team in the semi-final against New Zealand in the 2019 tournament too. India saw the cost of that, but didn’t realize the mistake until history almost repeated itself giving Shami a perfect opportunity to avenge the expulsion 4 years later.
Mohammed Shami is yet another of those players who had it hard from the start. He began his training in 2002 under coach Badruddin Siddique. His father used to bring him to the Sonakpur Stadium in Moradabad from their hometown of Amroha on his cycle. Badruddin observed Shami’s passion to become a fast bowler, bowling each delivery with his best effort from the first one of the day till the last.
Badruddin knew Shami was meant for going big in his career. No wonder, the coach was shocked to know that his protegee was dropped from the 2019 World Cup semi-finals. According to IANS, Badruddin said, ‘Stunned. How can you drop someone after he has picked 14 wickets for you in four games? What more do you expect out of your fast bowlers?’ But Shami’s battle began even before.
The Battle Inside is Always Harder
Shami had to fight a much harder battle in his personal life, the inside of his life as a human being, than the one he is trained to fight in the field against strangers, along with brothers bonded by nationality and team spirit. He was never trained for that and like many other people, thought of ending it all by ending his own life.
Yes, you read that right. Mohammed Shami had thoughts of ending his life and he disclosed this information in 2020 in an Instagram live session with Rohit Sharma. The reasons behind such an extreme thought were not scarce either. In 2018, he was accused of being involved in match-fixing, adultery and domestic violence by none other than Hasin Jahan- his now estranged wife.
Police complaint was filed against him & his brother under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also set up an Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) to investigate the match-fixing issue. After a thorough investigation he was given a clean chit and all the anti-Indian implications were also cleared off. Following that, the BCCI released through the media that it will proceed with offering Shami a Grade ‘B’ annual relationship contract.
Shami’s Journey in the ODI World Cup 2023
Patience is Power
‘The best revenge is huge success’- the Frank Sinatra mantra to move forward in life leaving behind all the darkness of the past has been personified through Shami’s performance in the world cup of 2023. But the journey here did not begin till the 5th match of the team. Shami was made to warm the bench for the first 4 matches while his team was not only playing, but winning match after match. Darkness seemed to surround his career once more, but only to fall short.
The management of the Indian team, including coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma, was keen on playing with 8 batsmen and that made a position for Shardul Thakur and Shami was kept waiting which, on the flip side, created a bowling compromise. Hardik Pandya was playing in full form as an all-rounder. But found himself in an injury on the 4th match against Bangladesh. He was a great asset to the team, but it was his injury that finally opened the door to success in Mohammed Shami’s career.
It took Shami only 6 matches to prove his worth and make India realize their mistake that they kept on making since 2019 by not allowing him to contribute to the team. By the end of the tournament, he turned out to be the highest wicket-taker and many more feathers were added to his hat.
Shami’s Bowling Technique in the World Cup 2023
It seemed like Shami had a well-planned strategy for taking all those wickets in the tournament. He had an absolutely amazing precision and control over the new ball. Till the semis, he bowled 5 of his 10 overs in the first 15 overs of the match. This strategy got him 11 of the total 24 wickets in the tournament with a monstrous average of 7.90 and strike rate of 11.45 while the economy rate was 4.14 with 73% dot ball. His performance was equally impressive beyond the power play overs.
‘Shami bowls with an upright seam. His ball hits the deck on the straight seam. He does not bowl with a wobbly seam. His seam kisses the pitch. He does not bang it in.’
- Wasim Akram, former Pakistan Captain
So what was the key behind Shami’s huge success in the world cup? It is obvious that everyone on the team was giving his best to add to the final victory of the team. But what clicked for Shami that many others couldn’t do? The Pakistani ‘Bowling Legend’ Wasim Akram shared his views & analyses on the matter. Take a look at the image below:
Akramn went on to explain further, referring to the image above, ‘The right one on the screen will come in to the batter and the left one will leave the batter after pitching. The seam on the right is in the direction of the leg slip and one on the left is towards the first slip.’ Not bending the wrist is the key here along with maintaining every subtle nuances ensuring the accurate seam position and length. That’s exactly what Shami did.
The Pinnacle of Shami’s World Cup Performance
Shami ended up with a lot of achievements by the end of the tournament- three 5-wicket hauls, one 4-wicket haul and a total of 24 wickets with an impressive average of 10.7 in just 7 matches. However, the zenith of his performance was observed in the semi-final against New Zealand.
India lost against the Kiwis in the previous two installments of the tournament and they did not have Shami in the team then. So, Shami branded himself by taking 7 wickets at the cost of only 57 runs, breaking the 181-run partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson that was about to cost India the semi-final yet again.
The Brightest Sunrise After the Darkest Cloud
The 7-57 happens to be the new record of best figure in the knockout round of a world cup tournament. Previously, it was held by Gary Gilmour at 6-14 for 48 years. Shami picked a total of 54 wickets- in just 17 matches- in his world cup career, till date, as the 6th highest wicket-taker in the tournament.
He is now India’s leading wicket-taker in the ODI world cup and the fastest one in the world to reach the 50 wickets mark. Not only did his cricketing talent and hard work receive the due justice, but also his value as a brand ambassador rose after the tournament. In fact, while the tournament was still going on his brand endorsement fee was increased to INR 1 crore- double from before the tournament of INR 40-50 lakhs.
Shami signed a deal with Puma to endorse the brand’s footwear, accessories and apparel right before the tournament took off. His endorsement portfolio includes quite a few impressive names like Puma, Vision 11 fantasy app and Hell Energy Drink. Seems, only a brighter career and happier life awaits him.
