The biggest tournament for Asian Subcontinent, Asia Cup 2022 is all set to begin on the 27th of August. The Indian squad for the Asia Cup was announced on the 8th of August. Many big names were missed out on this squad and some younger guns made their way into the national team. Many experts presented their views on India’s team selection.
India’s squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
India Has Better Bowlers Than Shami: Ricky Ponting
Former Australian Captain Ricky Ponting in his reaction to the Indian squad said that Mohammed Shami’s absence is understandable. He also clarified the reason for his comment by adding that the senior pacer is more explosive in the longer format of the game. Ricky Ponting said India have got better T20 bowlers than Mohammed Shami at the moment while stressing that the Asian giants will look to rely on their spinners more not just in the Asia Cup but also at the T20 World Cup.
In Ponting’s interview with the ICC he said, “He’s been a very, very good bowler for India for a long time now. If you look at his strengths, his Test cricket is probably where he thrives the most,”. His comments hinted that Shami is more lethal in longer formats, while is quite more expensive in limited overs cricket.
With Jasprit Bumrah injured, India picked only 3 frontline pacers in the Indian Squad. While senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to lead the attack, young Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan made the cut for Asia Cup. India picked Deepak Chahar but he is part of the list of 3 standby players. India picked as many as 4 frontline spinners, including R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal, for the challenge in the UAE.
Shami last played for India in the shortest format of the game at the T20 World Cup but the 31-year-old played ODIs as recently as July this year in England. With such a long break from international T20, it is understandable why selectors opted for other fast bowlers in place of Shami.
Mohammed Shami’s International Stats:
With more than 200 wickets in Test cricket and 150+ wickets in ODIs, Mohammed Shami is undoubtedly a great player for Team India. With his wicket-taking abilities, he many times have won the game for the country. But, he hasn’t played a lot of T20 cricket. He has played just 17 International T20 matches. It explains the reason for his omission from the Indian Squad.