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Cricket Players'On this pitch, if you're not going to take wickets then…': Gavaskar on how Shastri's 'rocket' triggered Shami's revival
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar narrated an interesting story about how Ravi Shastri played a huge role in Mohammed Shami's coming of age.
Although Jasprit Bumrah was the star of the show for India on Day 2 of the Cape Town Test between India and South Africa, the fact that the Men in Blue were able to enjoy a 13-run first-innings lead also had to do with Mohammed Shami’s devastating spell in the afternoon session. With Temba Bavuma and Keegan Petersen forging a threatening-looking partnership for India, Shami broke the partnership and struck twice in an over to tile the balance of the game in India’s favour.
While Bumrah took the cake, finishing with 5/42 – his seventh five-for in Tests, Shami’s figures of 2/39 from 16 overs was equally impressive. Shami’s turnaround in the last few years has been nothing remarkable but as it turns out, it was during India’s tour of South Africa that really triggered the India pacer’s revival. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar narrated an interesting story which highlights Shami’s coming of age.
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“At the Wanderers, the last time around in 2018, was when they actually got stuck into him apparently because till then he hadn’t really delivered. They said to him that on this pitch if you’re not going to take wickets then… So the word is and I am not too sure that Ravi gave him a rocket. And then he came out and destroyed South Africa. Sometimes you know, you need to put an arm around a player, sometimes you’ve got to just get stuck into him,” Gavaskar said on air.
Gavaskar weighed in further on Shami's brilliant show on Wednesday at the Newlands Stadium, pointing out how watching his fellow pacers Umesh Yadav and Bumrah get among the wickets could have motivated him to pick a couple himself.
“Somebody of his calibre, you can’t keep him out of the game for a long time. He had seen Yadav take a couple of wickets, he had seen Bumrah bowl splendidly and take 2 wickets. So he wanted to contribute. And he came in and did it at the right time. That Bavuma and Petersen partnership was a delight to watch but at the same time it was threatening India, so they needed a wicket at that stage and Shami delivered it,” he added.
