“Someone like him sitting at home baffles me”- Ravi Shastri slams Dravid, Rohit led management for ignoring Mohammad Shami


“Someone like him sitting at home baffles me”- Ravi Shastri slams Dravid, Rohit led management for ignoring Mohammad Shami

Mohammad Shami and Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri slammed the Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid-led management for ignoring Mohammad Shami in Asia Cup 2022 when the pacer had a strong Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Shastri questioned why only four pacers are in the squad.

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Shastri made this comment after India’s six-wicket loss to Sri Lanka on Tuesday in the Super 4 stage. India will get knocked out from the tournament if the result of othet team’s matches doesn’t go in its favour.

Shami had last represented the Men in Blue during the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021 in the T20 format. But, during IPL he had a memorable season where his bowling had helped Gujarat Titans lift their maiden trophy. He finished the season with 20 wickets in 16 matches at 24.40.

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“It’s up to the captain in the meeting to take that forward”- Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri
Mohammad Shami

But despite that, Mohammad Shami wasn’t included in the squad for Asia Cup 2022. The squad includes pacers in the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

I was quite surprised that you came here with just four fast bowlers (including Hardik). You needed that extra one… someone like Mohammed Shami sitting at home and cooling his heels baffles me. After the IPL he had, for him not to be able to make the cut is… Obviously, I’m seeing something different,” Shastri told the broadcasters.

Wasim Akram then questioned if coach too has input in selecting the team to which Shastri replied:

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He does. He’s not part of the selection. He can contribute by saying ‘this is the combination we want’ then it’s up to the captain in the meeting to take that forward. When I say planning… There should have been one extra fast bowler. One spinner less in the 15-16. You don’t wanna be caught situation where one guy has a fever and then you have no one else to play. You have to play another spinner which can be embarrassing in the end.”

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