Al-Shami does not regret his absence from previous World Cup matches – Gudstory

Also, among his wickets are also the wickets of Rashin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner. Shami’s spell helped India pull New Zealand from their expected tally of 320 to a low of 273. Bowling the way he did, Shami gave the Indian team management more thought in terms of the composition of the team.

“When you return after a long period to the starting lineup, it is important to get confidence early,” Al-Shami said in the post-match presentation. He added, “My first match in the World Cup helped me regain that confidence. It is not difficult (waiting on the bench) if your team is in good condition.”

Al-Shami was asked about the frustration of sitting outside through seemingly no fault of his own. He lost out to Shardul only for the sake of team balance, as the team preferred the bowler to finish at number eight, a position they deviated from in the wake of Hardik’s injury. It left India at risk of not having their backup bowlers, but it did not cost them in Dharamsala.

“They are your teammates, and if they are in good condition, you should support them,” Al-Shami said when asked about warming up the bench. “If it’s in the best interest of the team, then I’m OK with that. The wicket was important because it came against an opponent who was sitting at the top of the points table before this encounter.”

Al-Shami was investigated further. He was asked how he kept his motivation high. His response gave you a peek into his thought process, one that needs clarity and clear communication from team management. This one, led by Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, has been big on that. Very early on, Shami and the rest of the group were spoken to about their roles within the setup.

“Personally, my outlook is simple: keep having fun,” he said. “This is the biggest sport, the biggest place in cricket. You have 15 players. Four of them have to stay out. So, by being positive and enjoying the moment, you will get results. I always think to myself, maybe I’m not that good.” “I’m here today, but I’ll be here tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. We’ll definitely come in at some point in the rotation. When your time comes, you contribute to the team. I think that way.”

Shami glanced towards teammate Mohamed Siraj, who was waiting to speak in the mixed zone shortly after the press conference, when asked about the team culture and how the bowling group works together.

Shami had seen Siraj leapfrog him to become India’s bowling spearhead during Bumrah’s spell on the sidelines due to a back injury. This meant that Shami became the third front-line player in the line-up where only two could feature due to the team dynamics.

“We have a good group,” he said of the bowling group. “You have to see it, you get the speed, you see the aggression. And in terms of enjoying it, I’ve told you before, if you enjoy other people’s success, you’ll get better results. And the medal from the locker room too.” [for the best fielder]”I think we’ll get one today too once we get back to the locker room.”

Did he have any favorites among the five wickets?

“All the separations are my favourites. It’s hard to pick one, it’s like building a building, every brick is important and so is every wicket, they all matter a lot,” he said.