Former Bangladesh cricketer Athar Ali believes India should select Mohammed Shami over Shardul Thakur in their upcoming 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh on Thursday, October 19.
Mohammed Shami is yet to appear in the competition, as the Men in Blue choose Shardul Thakur as their third seamer because to batting depth. They haven’t utilized him enough, just giving him two overs against Pakistan.
In an interview with Star Sports ahead of India’s match against Bangladesh, Athar Ali stated why the hosts will be better served by selecting Mohammed Shami over Shardul Thakur:
“I feel Mohammed Shami should play against Bangladesh because of his experience of featuring in 94 ODIs. Shardul Thakur is no doubt a good bowler having picked up 64 wickets in 46 matches but Shami has 171 strikes to his name.
“We know that Shami is very accurate with his line and length, has pace and can swing the ball. His economy is less than 6, whereas Shardul is above 6 an over.”
Athar Ali
Manoj Tiwary, a veteran cricketer, was also there for the conversation and felt that playing Mohammed Shami ahead of Thakur made sense. He went on to say:
“Shardul’s performance hasn’t yet been upto the mark as per management’s expectations. He has got one wicket from 2 games and economy has been on the higher side. It is to be seen how he performs in the upcoming games but from the very beginning I wanted Mohammed Shami to be in the team which would mean 3 genuine fast bowling options.”
Manoj Tiwary
Athar Ali Prefers Shreyas Iyer Over Shardul Thakur for India’s XI
After his undefeated half-century against Pakistan in the last game, Athar Ali believes Shreyas Iyer is hitting form at the perfect moment. He believes Iyer will have a greater effect on the game versus Bangladesh than Thakur.
According to the former cricketer,
“Shreyas Iyer has performed really well in this World Cup. He didn’t start well but 25 runs against Afghanistan and an unbeaten 53 off 62 balls in the biggest game against Pakistan while chasing, proved his mettle.
“Shardul Thakur didn’t get to play against Australia, in the second game versus Afghanistan, he bowled 6 overs and picked up a wicket. In the Pakistan game he just bowled 2 overs and conceded 12 runs without any returns. I will definitely keep Shreyas Iyer ahead.”
Athar Ali
A big win might enable India reclaim first place in the table at the end of the game on Thursday.
