Mohammed Shami is one of the finest bowlers of modern era and an indispensable part of India’s Test and ODI teams. However, not long back he was battling personal demons that threatened to put his entire playing career in danger.
Back in 2018, Shami was dealing with injury issues and then right before the 2018 tour of England, he failed a fitness test and thus lost his place in the Indian team. Crestfallen, the right-arm pacer mulled over quitting cricket altogether, former India bowling coach Bharat Arun has revealed.
Shami had to miss the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
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Arun is credited with polishing India’s world-class pace attack, overseeing the development of Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav among others during his tenure with the national men’s team.
In a chat with Cricbuzz, Arun recalls how an ‘angry’ Shami told him about his plan following the failed fitness test.
“Just before the 2018 tour of England, we had a fitness test and Shami had failed it. He lost his place in the Indian team. He called me and said he wanted to have a word with me. So I invited him to my room; he was going through a personal turmoil. His fitness was affected, mentally he was gone. He came to me and said ‘I am very angry and I want to quit cricket’,” Arun was quoted as saying.
A concerned Arun quickly turned to the then head coach Ravi Shastri to guide Shami who asked the bowler to instead direct his anger towards working on his fitness.
“I immediately took Shami to meet Ravi Shastri. We both went up to his room and I said ‘Ravi, Shami wants to say something’. Ravi asked what it was and Shami told him the same thing that ‘I don’t want to play cricket’. Both of us asked ‘What will you do if not play cricket?’ What else do you know? You know how to bowl when given the ball,” Arun said.
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“So Ravi said ‘It’s good that you’re angry. This is the best thing that has happened to you because you have a ball in hand. Your fitness is poor. Whatever anger it is that you have, take it out on your body. We are going to send you to National Cricket Academy and want you to go there for 4 weeks and stay there. You will not go home, and only head to NCA. It suited Shami also because he had a problem going to Kolkata then so he spent 5 weeks at the NCA,” he added.
As it turned out that decision bore rich dividends for Shami as he regained his place and became one of the world’s leading fast bowlers. He was recalled for the England tour during which he took 16 wickets in the Test series.
“I still remember the call he (Shami) made and told me ‘Sir, I have become like a stallion. Make me run as much as you want’. The 5 weeks that he spent there, he realised what working on fitness can do to him,” Arun recalled.
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