Mohammad Shami showcased his enduring prowess by taking five wickets in the semifinal against Central Zone, propelling East Zone into the Duleep Trophy final for the first time in 13 years. With a remarkable tally of 903 wickets across 100 first-class matches, Shami’s performance has left East Zone captain Ishan Kishan impressed by the pacer’s evident hunger and motivation to return to the Indian national team. The semifinal match took place in Bengaluru, underscoring Shami’s critical role in East Zone’s success.
At 36, Shami is closer to the end of his career but Kishan said it has not prevented the Bengal man from asking for a few extra overs. Because who better than me to judge about hunger right now (hinting at Kishan’s time away from Indian cricket team for various reasons), i see that hunger in Shami bhai. Because shami bhai came in, asking me for those extra overs to get the wickets, this is something which always gives confidence to skippers, “Looking at his efforts as a captain, I felt very nice,.
He has been picking wickets, giving all his energy and he has done so well for the Indian cricket team also,” Kishan told reporters in the pre-match press conference. “He has been doing so well, especially having him in our team…it gives us a bit of more confidence,” Kishan added. But Kishan said the long absence from top-flight cricket has not dulled Shami’s competitive spirit. South Zone skipper Tilak Varma too showered praise on Shami, but said his side is ready to take on the wily pacer.
“I think he is just one of the best. He has been a legend of this game. He has been doing so well since he started playing for Bengal. “It’s hard to say when it comes to age, I feel age is just a number. If he is working hard it doesn’t matter. When you have bowlers who are willing to get you wickets. So, it’s always good to have him in the team. “He also finished with two boundaries, so he is an allrounder I feel nowadays. So I am very happy to have him in my team,” he added. “When he is trying to help me when I am leading the side…he is trying to come to me, give me options of what you can do. I think these things you can pick from a player whether he is willing to win you this game or not.
