‘It’s not too hard…’: Mohammed Shami opens up on being benched for four World Cup 2023 games | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: He came, he saw and he conquered. India’s experienced pacer Mohammed Shami was benched for four ICC World Cup 2023 games. He has been warming the benches and was seen coming onto the field only to deliver drinks and replacement bats.
However, on Sunday, during India’s fifth match of the tournament against New Zealand, when Shami got the opportunity, he grabbed it with both hands for a triumphant comeback.With his very first delivery in the mega event, Shami proved he still had the fire in his belly by dismissing Will Young for 17.
He didn’t stop there.
Shami went on to add four more scalps to his name. He returned with astonishing figures of 5 for 54 and bagged the Player of the Match award.
Apart from Young, Shami dismissed Rachin Ravindra (75), Daryl Mitchell (130), Mitchell Santner (1) and Matt Henry (0).

“When you come back after a long time to the XI it is important to get confidence early. That first game helped me get that confidence. It’s not too hard (waiting by the sidelines) if your team is doing well. They are your teammates and if they are doing well then you should be supporting them. If it’s in the team’s interest, I’m okay with it,” Shami said after the match.
Shami became the first Indian bowler to bag two five-wicket hauls in the history of the ODI World Cup. The 33-year-old picked his first five-wicket haul against England in the 2019 World Cup.
Other Indian bowlers like Kapil Dev, Venkatesh Prasad, Robin Singh, Ashish Nehra, and Yuvraj Singh all have one five-wicket haul.

“The wickets are important because we were the top 2 teams of the World Cup,” Shami said.
Shami’s five-wicket haul and Virat Kohli (95) propelled India to a four-wicket victory over New Zealand and a fifth win in five matches in the mega tournament.
India will now take on defending champions England in their sixth match of the tournament on October 29 in Lucknow.