Mohammed Shami bowling during the first ODI of the series against Australia in Mumbai. (AFP)
In the post-match press conference, Mohammed Shami mentioned the importance of workload management for players as two big events unfold
Indian pacer Mohammed Shami on Friday underlined the importance of recovering well to give his best effort after being inspired to go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series against Australia in Mumbai.
“After 40 overs in the Ahmedabad Test, I needed one to two days to recover. I completed that recovery and came here for the match.
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“The management has accepted that I need recovery. We have played so many matches that we know our skills and ability. So it is important that we recover properly to perform better,” Shami said. .
In the post-match press conference on Friday, Shami mentioned the importance of workload management for players with two big events coming up in the next few months – the ICC World Test Championship final and the ICC World Cup.
As far as workload is concerned, you have to be smart, you have to work on your strengths. You know your workload in terms of international cricket. It is better to take it series by series or match by match.
Earlier, stand-in captain Hardik Pandya had also talked about the importance of workload management and said that the players were comfortable with the decisions taken by the team management.
“All these people are confident that if they miss a few matches, they miss. No problem. This is the belief we have. If someone misses due to workload management, then this management has shown faith and trust in the players. I think that is the reason why the players who have gone out have come back with a lot of security,” Pandya said on Thursday.
When Shami was asked about his plan to take three wickets in six overs at an economy rate of just 2.8 runs per over, Shami said that he focused on putting the ball in the right areas. He admitted that the heat at the Wankhede Stadium was a problem until the wind started blowing.
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“The plan was to keep it simple. We also discussed in the team meeting about starting well, keeping the ball in good areas and sticking to our line and length.
“The heat was also an issue. When we bowled the first spell it was hot but later when the wind started blowing it became a bit better to bowl.”
Shami got good support from Siraj, who also took three wickets. Ravindra Jadeja made an all-round effort (2/46 and 45 not out) and the much-criticised KL Rahul played a fine knock (75 not out off 91 balls) as India chased down Australia’s total of 188 with ease in the end. ,
Shami was all praise for Siraj, saying he enjoyed bowling with Siraj in the absence of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been out of international action since September last year due to a back problem. With Bumrah’s participation in the ICC World Cup in October-November also in doubt, the Shami-Siraj partnership will give India a lot of confidence.
“It has been a long time since Bumrah played. It is our misfortune that he is not there. But we have a very good overall bowling unit for both white and red ball. Shami said in the press conference after the match, we support each other a lot.
Siraj has been playing for a while, he has got the confidence. It is important to see how well the other bowler is doing when bowling in a partnership. We try to bowl as tight as possible, keeping the ball in specific patches. As a senior bowler you have to lead.”
India will now take on Australia in Visakhapatnam on March 19 before traveling to Chennai for the final match of the series on March 22.
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