Formats may change but Mohammed Shami's class will remain

The toughest ball in cricket is often the one where the batter is unsure of whether he wants to play it or wants to let it go.

The even tougher gig is repeating it and forcing the batter to make the decision every single time. Not many in world cricket do that better than Mohammed Shami at the moment, and not many, for that very reason, are better than Shami.

The IPL fixture between the Delhi Capitals (DC) and Gujarat Titans (GT) was yet another illustration of how the Indian fast bowler has the ball on a string.

He accounted for Phil Salt in his opening over and while that was not the greatest delivery he would ever bowl, it was enough to get the better of an international-quality batter.

Mohammed Shami was on fire against DC

A few minutes later, he produced a peach of a delivery to get rid of Rilee Rossouw. The ball seemed to hone in on the stumps and Rossouw did nothing wrong by trying to defend.

Shami, though, was just better. He got the ball to deck away ever so slightly and it induced a faint tickle that Wriddhiman Saha gobbled up behind the stumps.

The GT seamer was not done yet. He then proceeded to rip out Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg, leaving DC tottering at 23-5, even before the powerplay was done.

DC made a game out of it because of their persistence and GT’s inability to close out a run chase. But the dexterity of Shami, irrespective of the result, was undeniable – something Hardik Pandya also alluded to in his post-match interview.

This was not the first time Shami had set the game up for his side in the powerplay this season either. At the time of writing, he has 12 wickets when the field restrictions are in operation – four more than India teammate Mohammed Siraj, who has eight wickets in this phase.

The veteran's scalps have come at an average of 12.75, an economy rate of just over six runs per over, and a strike rate of 12.5. The numbers thus say that if he bowls three overs in the powerplay, which the pacer does more often than not, he ends up picking up a wicket (at least) in IPL 2023.

The best part about it all is that Shami, through his relentless accuracy, is making people believe that simplicity is genius, even in the hustle and bustle of T20 cricket where some believe the number of variations is directly proportional to success.

He rarely bowls slower deliveries and most of the balls he bowls are pitched at what might be a very good length in Test cricket too. And even when he gets hit, he sticks to his strengths. Because deep down, he knows that he can keep hitting those areas on a consistent basis.

That is why, in many ways, he is the sort of bowler any team would envy. He might not bowl as often at the death as he once did, but his powerplay expertise is almost unparalleled.

In fact, close your eyes for a moment, and just visualize what perfect fast-bowling could look like – a bolt-upright seam position, the ball nibbling either way and the ball landing just in that area where the batter does not know whether to come forward or stay back.

Open your eyes, and you will quickly realize that that is exactly what Shami does. Irrespective of the format, irrespective of where he is playing, or who he is playing for. That is why even when the formats change, Shami’s class remains.

Bowlers of such ilk are indispensable. The fact that he is the current Purple Cap holder and could be the first name on India’s team sheet a month from now when they take on Australia in the World Test Championship final is a testament to that.

As Pandya said in the post-match presentation, the Titans disappointed Shami by not getting across the finish line.

He also mentioned that there was not a lot of help in the surface for the pacers and that it was down to his premier pacer’s brilliance that he picked up four in the powerplay, even before DC understood what was unfolding around them.

Not many would be arguing with either of those assessments, especially after witnessing Shami conjure magic like that!