‘Rohit pehle hi mana kar deta hai ur Virat…’ – Shami reveals secrets

Mohammed Shami is on his way to recovery after undergoing surgery for an Achilles tendon injury he sustained during the ODI World Cup last year. The veteran India fast bowler, who is undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and only recently started rolling his arm over in the nets, took time out to appear on a podcast and shared some funny secrets from India’s training sessions.
With 24 wickets in just seven innings in the ODI World Cup last year, Shami not just topped the tally of wicket-takers in the tournament but also played a key role in India’s unbeaten run to the final, where they lost to Australia.
Speaking on a lighter note during the podcast about the little battles between the batsmen and bowlers during the Indian team’s net sessions, the 33-year-old right-arm pacer said while Virat Kohli likes to get challenged, captain Rohit Sharma outrightly refuses to face him in the nets.
“Virat se to mera hamesha se rehta hai ki hum ek dusre ko challenge dete hain (with Virat it’s always like we challenge each other). He likes to hit good shots, I like to get him out. The bonding and the friendship reflects in that. It also helps you focus and put in the effort as you simulate (fielding positions), for example, two (imaginary) slips in place, two gully fielders. (So I challenge Virat) to come at me and score runs. We enjoy such things,” said Shami.
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Talking about Rohit on the same subject, Shami smiled and said skipper “mana kar deta hai”.
“Rohit to pehle hi kehta hai ‘mai isko khelna pasand nahi karta’. Woh to pehle hi mana kar deta hai (Rohit says I don’t like to face him, he refuses to bat against me),” said Shami with a smile.
Shami missed the entire season of the Indian Premier League and the T20 World Cup this year, and will need clearance from the NCA medical team and the BCCI before returning to competitive cricket.
It’s being speculated that the veteran pacer may play some role in the two-Test series against Bangladesh in September-October this year.