Mohammed Shami proves fitness, raises question

In today's day and age of non-stop cricket, practice matches hold little meaning. But for one man, the significance is manifold.

India's first World T20 warm-up game against the West Indies in Kolkata on Thursday not only gave Mohammed Shami a chance to assess his fitness after retuning from a long injury lay-off, it also provided him a platform to prove to captain MS Dhoni and the team management that he is ready to play.

A lot of eyebrows were raised when the injured Bengal speedster was picked for the World T20 squad despite not playing international cricket since the semifinal of the 2015 ICC World Cup in March last year. Those eyebrows went a notch higher when Shami was ruled out of the Asia Cup after he pulled a hamstring again in Australia in January. There were questions on whether the injury-prone fast bowler should be straightaway drafted into a big world tournament.

Shami cleared those doubts to a certain extent on Thursday, bowling his full quota of four overs and picking up two wickets while giving away 30 runs. Dhoni summoned Shami in the third over of the West Indies innings.

Shami didn't have the best of starts, Chris Gayle smacking him for two fours. In his next over, though, Shami got the wicket of Gayle's opening partner Johnson Charles, who tried to place a fullish delivery behind point only to edge it straight to wicketkeeper Dhoni.

After the two-over spell, Shami returned in the 16th over, when the West Indies had lost eight wickets. The Indian capped off his outing with a wicket off the first ball of his final over, removing No. 9 batsman Ashley Nurse.

"Looking at what he did today (Thursday), it looks good," Rohit Sharma, who scored an unbeaten 98 in India's 45-run win, said after the game. "He bowled really well, executed his skills really well. He bowled bouncers, yorkers, slower ones, and that's what we expect from him. The last game he played for India, he did pretty well. He was one of the main bowlers for us. So, expectations will be there from him, no doubt about it."
The opener revealed how Shami put the hard yards in the nets a day before the warm-up tie.

"Coming back from a knee injury is never easy for anyone, not just a bowler. But he really worked hard. Now he's here, and he did pretty well considering that it was his first game (after returning from injury). He was working hard in the nets yesterday (Wednesday), trying to get his rhythm back," he said.

With India looking a well-oiled unit going into the World T20, Shami remains their only quandary. Should he prove his fitness again in the only other warm-up game against South Africa here on Saturday, the moot point for the think-tank then will be whether to play the experienced pacer in India's first game against New Zealand in Nagpur on March 15.

In case the team decides to take the gamble, one of Ashish Nehra or Jasprit Bumrah will have to make way for Shami. However, Dhoni has made it clear that it will be difficult to ask his two in-form fast bowlers to warm the benches.

"He (Shami) is someone who can bowl with the new and old ball, with yorkers being his strength. But it will be difficult to replace Bumrah as he has contributed very well with the new ball. Hardik Pandya is a seaming all-rounder. If Jadeja or him (Hardik) can bat at No. 8 and they can give me three or four overs, then it looks like a better balanced side. Shami can only come in Ashish's slot but he would be very tough to replace, the reason being he has done very well for us," Dhoni said after winning the Asia Cup a few days ago.

Rohit spoke about the expectations from Shami. Dhoni spoke about the difficulty of drafting him in. Which way will the team management swing come March 15? Saturday's game against the Proteas should provide a clearer picture.

Shami's four overs vs WI
Over 1 (3rd): 9 runs, 0 wicket
Over 2 (5th): 10 runs, 1 wicket
Over 3 (16th): 5 runs, 0 wicket
Over 4 (18th): 6 runs, 1 wicket

Got everything out of WI game: Rohit
Rohit Sharma, who starred in India's first warm-up win over the West Indies with a 57-ball unbeaten 98, said the team got everything it wanted out of the practice match. "When you play practice matches, it is really important to get everything you want as a team, from a batting perspective, bowling, fielding, everything. It was just about getting the feel of the World Cup, coming back and playing in India. That's important. We did all of that. Our bowlers did the job, everyone got to bowl. Everyone got to bat as well except Virat and Dhoni. It's all about giving chances to the guys who haven't been in the middle for a long time." India will take on South Africa in their second and final warm-up match at the Wankhede on Saturday.