Mohammad Shami has been brilliant in this year’s IPL and proved himself by holding the purple cap. Shami believes his teammates have a great understanding between them. Kings XI Punjab has managed to win just a single game out of the four matches they played so far in the tournament.
“I have played with KL (Rahul) and I have worked with Anil (Kumble) sir for a long time. And I believe that it gets easier for a captain to manage a player if you have that understanding from a long time,” Shami said while speaking on Amstrad InsideSport Face 2 Face cricket series.
“And there are many players who have known each other in the squad. You just have to tell them once and they understand what they are trying it. This has helped us perform well as a unit and one person has to come out as a leader and Rahul is the perfect man for it. He is our keeper also which allows him to have a clear view of everyone,” he added.
On asked about the surge of COVID-19 pandemic Shami said: “For any athlete, this situation wasn’t in our schedule and it wasn’t even in our hand. As far as the Indian team goes, our schedule is pretty hectic throughout the year. We have back to back tours and we hardly get 10 days in between two tournaments.”
Shami said Virat had believed in him and that is the reason he has emerged as India’s supreme bolwer over the time.
“I think in international cricket, fast bowlers would definitely perform well when they have the backing from the captain and he is one such personality.”
“Virat loves to take on a challenge. He is clear with what he wants and he gives us the freedom to play to our strength and backs us with our decisions as well which has helped us perform better.”
On asked on the culture of team dressing room Shami said: “The biggest factor is the culture of motivation and fitness in the team. We have a unit of six-seven fast bowlers who have been playing since the last five years and no matter whom you choose they will give their 100 per cent.”
“If we keep on building this culture it is going to hugely benefit the junior levels. This is the basic reason that the reserve fast bowlers, U-19 ones everyone is showing great quality,” he added.
Shami further stated how he is going with his practice time. “When the lockdown started, I took 20-25 days off, but I pushed myself to utilise all the things I had which were needed for practice. Even though it gets a bit boring to practice alone but luckily I had my friend and my brother for the practice. The practice during the lockdown and a month of practice in UAE helped me keep the momentum.”
“The most difficult thing for a sportsperson it to maintain their weight and fitness levels which becomes very crucial to handle. I am very happy that I have been able to utilize what I got from cricket to keep myself in good shape.”
