Mohammed Shami was born in a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, the son of a fast-bowler-turned-farmer who spotted potential in only one of his five children and took him to one of the best coaches in Moradabad, the town nearest to his village. A hard worker, he was a bundle of energy under Badruddin Siddique’s watchful eye and trained like a workhorse under his watch.
His coach advised him to relocate to Kolkata after Shami was allegedly snubbed from the U-19 selections for politically-corrupt reasons. Debabrata Das took him under his wing and he nearly joined the Bengal U-22s. A specially conducted net session under the supervision of S. Ganguly led to Shami being recognized as a special talent.
He was then selected by the Bengali squad to represent the region at the Ranji level. Having posted impressive domestic performances, Shami was selected for the West Indies A tour in 2012, where he was impressed with his pace and lateral movements on relatively flat surfaces without much help as a fast bowler.
Shami is one of the stand-out and versatile performers in India’s domestic circuit as he takes 10 wickets at Eden and 11 at Indore.
Shami Throughout the IPL
Initially part of the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, Mohammed Shami had only a few opportunities to play. His debut for India was so impressive that Delhi Daredevils purchased him for Rs. 4.25 crore in 2014.
In the Indian Premier League, Shami has had expensive ball possession, and injuries haven’t helped either.
With an IPL economy rate greater than 9, Delhi decided to release him after five years of association. KXIP pounced on Shami during the 2019 IPL auctions and paid him Rs 4.40 crore. As KXIP strives for its first IPL victory, Shami will be a crucial cog in the team’s success.
IPL 2022
Mohammad Shami, one of India’s top seam bowlers, was purchased by Gujarat Titans for INR 6.25 crore during the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. Shami rebuilt his limited-overs game in recent years with some outstanding performances in India colors, and he has been signed by PBKS for a large price tag of INR 4.8 crore during the 2019 Player Auction. Shami was in charge of the PBKS speed assault.
At the beginning of the innings as well as in the dying overs, he is capable of being effective. Damian Sharma has made outstanding progress and is now a complete bowler, so batsmen should take him seriously.
With 19 wickets taken from 14 games, he was the most prolific wicket-taker for KXIP in 2019. As of the 13th edition, his bowling improved even more during the 2020 season with PBKS in which he made six runs in a super-over by his incredible consistency. With his experience with the new ball Shami will be invaluable to Gujarat Titans this season.
