The prettiest sight for a fast bowler, watching the stumps cartwheel or getting knocked out of the ground, became more of a next-door neighbour for Mohammed Shami at the start of his international career for India.
He made his first-class debut against Assam in November 2010 where he took three wickets. In 2011, he was picked by Kolkata for the fourth season of the Indian T20 League. Later on, Delhi acquired his services in 2014 and retained him in 2016.
With the ability to swing the new as well as the old ball at a brisk pace, Shami gained a lot of respect from the Aussies during their ODI tour to India in 2013, admitting that Shami's deliveries hit their bats pretty hard. He was drafted into the Test squad thereafter, against West Indies and made his debut on his home ground at the Eden Gardens. He shell-shocked the West Indians with his reverse swing, finding the stumps on numerous occasions and attaining the best figures (9/118) by a pacer on Test debut for India.
Soon, Shami was selected in the ODIs as well and he didn't disappoint. He had a successful tour of New Zealand where he picked up 11 wickets and followed it up with many decent performances. During the 2014 Asia Cup, Shami became the second fastest Indian to take 50 ODI wickets.
Mohammed Shami was India’s most successful bowler in the 2015 World Cup and played a key role in taking his team to the semis. Soon after the tournament, his career hit a roadblock when he was diagnosed with a knee injury. He missed the limited-overs tour to Australia, Asia Cup and World T20 during that period.
When Shami returned to full fitness, he was drafted into India's Test squad to play in West Indies. With 11 wickets, he was the second most successful bowler for India in the series and showed his class once again. Shami continued his progress and played a key role in India's overseas Test tours in 2017/18. In the shorter versions as well, Mohammad Shami had a strong tour of New Zealand in early 2019 where he was India's leading wicket-taker and also achieved 100 ODI wickets to become the fastest Indian to reach that landmark in terms of matches.
It was a no-brainer that India picked Shami in their World Cup squad for 2019. After waiting for a few games, he got a chance to play in place of an injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar and took a hat-trick against Afghanistan, thereby becoming only the second Indian to achieve this feat.
