Mohammed Shami was in terrific form at the recently concluded ODI World Cup.
An injury to allrounder Hardik Pandya opened up a spot and Shami entered India’s playing XI after warming the benches for the first few games.
India may not have lifted the trophy but Shami’s sensational performance with the ball was certainly a treat for eyes.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, Shami has witnessed his popularity skyrocket.
In a video shared by Shami, fans can be seen waiting in long queue to catch a glimpse of the Indian pacer.
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Recently, Shami talked about the hardships that he had to deal with while playing domestic cricket. “Everything was fine, I used to perform well but when the final round came, they kicked me out. When I went again next, year, the same thing happened. There were about 1600 boys for the trials which was for three days. What are they going to see? So my brother talked to the head and received a response which he never expected,” the 33-year-old recalled.
Later, Shami went on to represent the Bengal cricket team in the domestic circuit and proved his mettle before making debut for the Indian cricket team.
In first-class cricket, Shami has 332 wickets under his belt having played in 88 matches.
“Then I moved to Calcutta at the age of 14-15. I talked to my coach. I became steadfast that I have to play. I was getting lot of experience. After three-four years, I went to Arun Lal academy. It was a cement pitch. The place for run-up was short. I was surprised. But still I bowled. Then they told me to have lunch. I was against surprised as they gave break and chickpeas curry. I thought I will get rice and daal too,” Shami revealed.
At the recently concluded World Cup, Shami was in spectacular form and emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the competition. Having played just seven matches in the tournament, Shami claimed 24 wickets.