It is said, the best kind of marketing is by word of mouth. It works the same in professional world as well, including sports. And it is one of the means of players in the domestic circuit or lower divisions to break into the big leagues. A good performance never goes unnoticed and once it becomes consistent, the word definitely drops by the ears of big players. That is how many players in the Indian cricket team have been selected over the years and such was the case for the 22-year-old pacer from West Bengal, who had found himself in the Indian nets, with then skipper MS Dhoni overlooking his trial. The legendary cricketer uttered just four words and rest was history for the fast bowler.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, on their ‘Rise of New India’ show, veteran Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma recalled the first time Mohammed Shami had bowled in the net session for India. Ishant, by then, was already a senior member of the Indian side, recalled that he had heard a lot many times about Shami and his bowling prowess. He described it as being “very skiddy”.
The 34-year-old added that Shami was eventually called to the Indian net session in 2013 and Dhoni, the then Indian captain, was thoroughly impressed with his bowling.
“I had heard of a bowler from West Indies who had a lot of pace, meaning he was very skiddy. His run-up looks normal but he bowled with a lot of pace. So when we saw him at the net, then Mahi Bhai said, “Wow, he is good”,” he said.
Shami made his debut in the Test format later that year at the Eden Gardens against West Indies, picking nine wickets in India’s win by an innings and 51 runs, which included a five-wicket haul in the second innings.
“Then he made his debut in Kolkata. As far as I remember, he picked nine wickets and helped India win. So after that, we also became very good friends. When he was going through some personal turmoil, whatever had happened to him, I felt he needed a support from someone outside and say to him, ‘What happened, happened. If you focus on cricket, may be things will become okay’. May be that is why Shami is a totally different bowler now,” Ishant added.
