Former Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt has backed Mohammad Shami as the ideal replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2022. He believes that the pacer hasexperience of Australian pitches and conditions and he can prove very valuable for India.
“A fully fit Mohammed Shami could prove to be very valuable,” says Salman Butt
The speculations are increasing day by day with BCCI yet to name a replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah in the side. Indian team have flown Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur to Australia and one of them will be picked as a replacement.
Shami, who is the front-runner to replace Bumrah, has not played a single T20I since the last T20 World Cup but he was sensational with the ball in the IPL 2022 as he was the leading wicket-taker for his side with 20 wickets from 16 games.
He was originally named in the standby list for World Cup and was also slated to play in the T20I series against South Africa and Australia. But Covid-19 ruled him out of both the series. He recently passed the fitness test and it remains to be seen if he will be debated to the main squad or not.
Sunil Gavaskar picks Mohammad Siraj ahead of Mohammad Shami as Jasprit Bumrah's replacement for the T20 World Cup.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 12, 2022
Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt backed Shami to be in the Indian team. He explained that If India wants to jolt the opposition, the pacer needs to be in that team. He said:
“Harshal Patel relies a lot on change of pace and that is his strength. He is quite deceptive and is also capable of bowling the yorker. But if you want to dent the opposition team’s chances early, a fully fit Mohammed Shami could prove to be very valuable.”
“He has proved to be quite successful there,” Salman Butt highlights Shami’s experience
Among all the three pacers that have travelled to Australia, Mohammad Shami is the most experienced and has done reasonably well in the Australian conditions.
Butt concluded by highlighting Shami’s experience and said: “Mohammed Shami played at the 2015 World Cup in Australia and has also toured the country several times for a bilateral series. He has a lot of experience when it comes to Australian pitches and conditions. He has proved to be quite successful there. I believe that he should be a part of India’s main squad.”
All the best Shami for the T20 World Cup 2022. pic.twitter.com/eA19k5ndBE
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 12, 2022
