Any faint-hearted man would have given up by now. But the word surrender doesn’t exist in the dictionary of Mohammed Shami, the veteran fast bowler who still roars like a lion.
Cruelly sidelined by selectors despite his consistent wicket-taking form in domestic cricket, Shami produced a scorching spell of fast bowling on Sunday.
His relentless accuracy earned him two wickets as the right-armer set up Lucknow Super Giants’ first win of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season — an impressive five-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Chasing 160, Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant (68 not out off 50 balls) led from the front to guide the team home.
South African Aiden Markram also chipped in with a fine 45, but the star of the show was Shami, the veteran of 197 international matches and the standout bowler of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Shami (4-0-9-2) delivered a masterclass in the art of opening bowling in T20 cricket, removing Sunrisers’ dangerous Hyderabad openers Travis Head (7) and Abhishek Sharma (0).
Hyderabad did manage to post 159 for nine on the back of half-centuries from Heinrich Klaasen (62 off 41) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (56 off 33), but the early damage caused by Shami’s incisive opening spell (3-0-7-2) never allowed Hyderabad to go for a really big score.
Having last played for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy, Shami has been repeatedly ignored by Indian selectors.
But on Sunday, he proved yet again that he is still good enough to share the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah for India.
After receiving the man-of-the-match award on Sunday, Shami revealed he has never stopped working on his game.
“If you want to play, it’s important to be in touch with the game. If you’re fit, only then can you work on your skills. That’s why I kept in touch with the game and played all the domestic games,” said Shami, who took 37 wickets at 16.72 in seven Ranji matches for Bengal last season.
Despite his rich haul of wickets — 462 — in international cricket, Shami takes nothing for granted.
“Without skill or experience, nothing happens. So you have to adapt,” Shami said when asked about his slower balls against Sunrisers on Sunday.
His combination of swing and seam may have left the aesthetes drooling on Sunday, but it’s still unclear if Shami, 35, will get another chance to play for India again.
What we do know is that if his red-hot form continues, Shami would become a headache not just for the rival batters in the IPL, but also for Indian selectors.
Source: Khaleej Times