Kapil Dev backs Mohammed Shami to be at his menacing best in Champions Trophy
Legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev has given his thoughts on India’s pace attack for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Men in Blue have picked just three seam bowlers in their Champions Trophy squad, along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Two fast bowlers amongst the three are not at their 100%, namely Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
While Bumrah’s availability is yet to be confirmed for the mega event after he got injured during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney, Shami recently made a comeback to international cricket after a 14-month hiatus forced by a heel injury. Kapil Dev commented on the fitness issues of the two pace stalwarts and said that it won’t be too difficult for Shami to return to his best due to his strong mindset. However, he mentioned that he might take some time to get back into his rhythm again.
“It’s not that difficult to make a comeback from injury as a player has a strong mindset. However, there remains a question if he will be able to make the same impact with injury? It takes time, he will have to play a lot of matches unlike batters. If you haven’t bowled in the past six months or a year and are coming back from an injury, then it takes time to find your rhythm again. Shami has massive ability, let’s hope he comes back fully recovered and doesn’t get injured again. If a player needs more time to be fully fit, he should take it because injuries like these leave a fear in the bowler’s mind,” said Kapil Dev on Cricket Adda.
Furthermore, he also mentioned that Bumrah’s absence will be a huge loss for India in the tournament if he fails to recover in time given his remarkable exploits at the international level in the past two years.
“Absolutely, there’s no doubt about that, what Jasprit Bumrah has achieved in the past two years, I don’t think any other fast bowler in the world has been able to do that. When big players like him get injured, it leads to problems for the team. Let’s hope, he makes a comeback soon,” he added.
Shami and Bumrah were India’s top two highest wicket-takers during India’s dream campaign in the ODI World Cup 2023. While Shami was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 24 scalps, Bumrah finished as the fourth-highest with 20 wickets to his name. Hence, they will be expected to emulate their performance in the upcoming event, if they pair up once again.
Meanwhile, India are placed in Group A in the Champions Trophy alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand and will start their campaign on Thursday, February 20 against Bangladesh.
