Mohammed Shami nominated for the Arjuna Award 2023

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami is in the running for India's second-highest sporting honor, the Arjuna Award. According to the news agency ANI, he was not on the list originally but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made a "special request" to the sports ministry to have him included.

The fast bowler has been in brilliant form in 2023 and was a key cog behind India's run to the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Despite not playing in the first half of the tournament, he was the top wicket-taker with 24 scalps at an average of 10.71. Shami's exploits included three five-wicket hauls and a four-fer in just seven matches.

The Arjuna Award, which started in 1961, honors athletes for "good performance in the field of sports over a period of four years" at the international level and for showing "qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline."

All government-recognized sports organizations in India send their nominations to the sports ministry, along with previous winners of the Major Dhyan Chandra Khel Ratna, Arjuna, and Dronacharya awards.

Twenty-five sportspersons won the award last year but none of them were cricketers. The last cricketer to win the annual award was Shikhar Dhawan in 2021. Ishant Sharma and Deepti Sharma won it the year before that.

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"If I tell you coaches could create Mohammed Shami, I would be lying" - Paras Mhambrey

Team India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey recently lauded Mohammed Shami as a unique talent, saying the pacer's ability to land the ball on the seam every time is almost uncoachable and developed after years of meticulous hard work.

"Well, if I tell you that coaches could create a bowler like Shami, then I would be lying. If a bowler can land it on upright seam every time then every other bowler in the world will be Shami," Mhambrey told PTI.

"It is a skill that Shami has acquired with tremendous hardwork and developed himself into the bowler that he is. Bowling ball after ball on the seam and with that perfect wrist position and getting it to move either ways is a rare skill set," he added.

Shami will miss the white-ball leg of India's ongoing tour of South Africa due to a minor injury but he is expected to be back for the two Tests against the Proteas later this month.