'We Always Wanted to Have Someone Experienced': Rohit Explains Why Shami Was Picked as Bumrah's Replacement

Indian captain Rohit Sharma

Jasprit Bumrah getting injured weeks before the T20 World Cup 2022 came as a massive shock for Team India. It was the first time since his international debut that he will miss out on a major ICC tournament. But to fill his place, the BCCI roped in Mohammad Shami, who was initially named as a travelling reserve.

Shami hasn’t been in India’s scheme of things in the shortest format since their exit from the last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE. The Men in Blue played 35 T20Is since then but without the services of the right-arm quick.

Comes the T20 World Cup, he just bowled one over in a warm-up game against the reigning world champions at The Gabba and destroyed their tail. He affected 4 consecutive dismissals in the final over, handing India a 6-wicket win.

Shami has been training with the team for quite a while and, in all likelihood, he will land up a spot in the playing XI. Prior to the Pakistan game, Rohit addressed a presser and spoke about why the team picked Shami as Bumrah’s replacement.

“Speaking of Shami, I could say that the guy has so much experience of playing for so many years for India and has played World Cups before as well. We all know the quality he has. When Bumrah got injured, we always wanted to have someone experienced in the line-up and Shami was the right choice for us,” Rohit said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

“Looking at what has happened to him in the last 20-25 days, he got Covid back home and had to miss the series that we played leading up to the World Cup. But with the kind of experience he has, we are sure that he’ll not be short of match practice,” he added.

Shami was carrying drinks in the warm-up game against Australia before ripping apart the Australian lower order. Rohit said the plan was to challenge the bowler in death, adding that Shami’s skills with the new ball is well-known.

“And obviously, speaking of the practice game against Australia, that was always the plan. We know he’s very good with the new ball. So, we just wanted to give him a bit of a challenge to come and bowl at the death and see what he can do. And most importantly, his body was something we wanted to look at. He’s just recovered from Covid and we wanted to give him enough time. We wanted him to play him in the next warm-up game for the entire 20 overs but unfortunately, it was washed off.

“In terms of preparation, he is well-prepared and training with the team for a while now. He came to Brisbane pretty early and had a few sessions with the entire team. He is ready and it’s all about going out and doing what Shami is known for,” Rohit said.