Ashish Nehra feels that senior pacer Mohammed Shami is currently not in the plans of the Indian management for the T20 World Cup.
Shami hasn’t played a white-ball game for India since the T20 World Cup last year in the UAE. But, he shone brightly with the ball during the IPL 2022, picking up 20 wickets in Gujarat Titans’ run to the title along with Nehra who was the head coach of the franchise.
Shami was arguably the best powerplay bowler in the IPL and because of his workload management, he along with Bumrah haven’t played many limited-overs internationals in recent months.
Ashish Nehra says prepare Shami for ODI World Cup next year
Addressing Shami’s chances for the T20 World Cup, slated for October in Australia, Nehra reckoned the Bengal seamer may not get a place there, but, he believes, Shami should be looked for the ODI World Cup in 2023 in India.
“It seems like he is not in the plans at the moment (for T20 World Cup). But, if the management needs Shami, we all know his abilities as a bowler. I can understand if he doesn’t play the T20 World Cup. He will continue to play Test cricket, and even if you want to give chance to young players, they should definitely consider him for the 50-over World Cup next year,” Nehra said during an interaction on Cricbuzz.
Shami next assignment will be the Edgbaston Test match from July 1 – the Test is the fifth game of the unfinished series from last year which India leads 2-1 – and it will be followed by 3 T20Is and as many ODIs, the squads of the same have not been announced yet. Whether Shami finds a place in those white-ball squads will reveal more about the selectors and management’s thoughts on their plans.
“We don’t have many ODIs this year and Shami is on a break at the moment after IPL. India can play him in England for the 50-over games after the Test match. You will play three ODI games against a top-quality white-ball team like England, and you would definitely love to beat them. And for that, you need to your best bowlers. I would definitely take Shami in that bracket,” Nehra added.
