Delhi: Veteran West Indies cricketer Andy Roberts has praised Indian bowler Mohammed Shami. Roberts was part of the famous West Indies fast bowling quartet (Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft) in the 70s and 80s. He called Shami the best bowler of India. He believes that Jasprit Bumrah and Muhammad Siraj are nowhere near him.
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Shami is a “complete package”
Andy Roberts said in an interview that even though Jasprit Bumrah may have got more wickets, Shami is a “complete package”. He has excellent control, and can swing and seam the ball both ways. He said, “Shami has been India’s best bowler for some time now. He may not have as many wickets in his account as Bumrah, but his consistency and quality of bowling make him special. He is adept at swinging and seaming the ball, and his control is as excellent as Bumrah.”
‘Siraj is nowhere near Shami’
Roberts also said that even Siraj, India’s second best fast bowler after Bumrah in Australia, cannot reach Shami’s level. According to him, “Shami should play. “Mohammed Siraj is not even anywhere near Shami right now.”
Question on Shami’s availability
Amidst this statement of Andy Roberts, there is also discussion regarding Shami’s availability. He has not played any match for India since the ODI World Cup last year. His last Test match was against Australia in the final of the World Test Championship in June 2023. After recovering from injury, Shami performed well for Bengal in Ranji Trophy. He took 8 wickets in 7 matches and helped his team reach the knockout. Apart from this, he gave a brilliant all-round performance against Chandigarh in SMAT, scoring 32 runs in 17 balls and bowling 13 dot balls.
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