[In Pictures] “I feel so blessed” – Mohammed Shami lands in Australia for T20 World Cup

Star Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has finally reached Australia for the T20 World Cup. He is in Brisbane and will reunite with the Men in Blue ahead of the opening warmup fixture against Australia on Monday (October 17).

Shami’s comeback comes as a major relief for Team India in the absence of injured pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been ruled out of the tournament.

The speedster recently tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the T20I series against Australia and South Africa at home. He is expected to feature in the warmup matches ahead of the Super 12 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday (October 23).

In an Instagram post, he wrote:

“God, thank you for bringing me here safely. I am so happy and I feel so blessed with friends and family, especially you Lord. Thank you for all the blessings you have given me…thanks again…now fight with jet lag.”

The veteran has not played a T20I for India since the 2021 T20 World Cup. He has played only 17 T20Is for the Men in Blue, where he has picked up 18 wickets at an economy rate of 9.54. However, he looked decent in IPL 2022 for the champions Gujarat Titans, taking 20 wickets in 16 matches.

He last featured in a competitive cricket match during India's tour of England in July.

---

Mohammed Shami to strengthen Indian pace attack

Shami will play the role of a senior pacer for India in the T20 World Cup. He will strengthen India’s bowling in the powerplay and death overs. The Indian bowlers leaked 200+ runs in their last two T20Is against South Africa at home. The bowling department needs to address the issues in the warmup matches.

Besides Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have also travelled to Australia to help India prepare for the showpiece T20 event.

Rohit Sharma and Co. will play warmup fixtures against Australia (October 17) and New Zealand (October 19).

India are placed in the same group as South Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh. A couple of teams (qualifiers) will join the group for the Super 12 stage.

India's T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh.