Woh Toh Pehle Hi Mana Kar Deta Hai: Shami On His Battles With Virat & Rohit Sharma In Nets

Mohammed Shami was on song for India in the ODI World Cup 2023. In seven matches of the 50-over megaevent played entirely in India last year, the 33-year-old pacer picked up 24 wickets in seven matches. He was not included in the playing XI for the first four matches, but after an injury to Hardik Pandya, he replaced Shardul Thakur in the playing XI and took the tournament by storm. He finished as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament and played a big role in India’s unbeaten run to the final.

However, since then, he has struggled with injury-related issues and not played any competitive matches. The Amroha-based pacer is expected to make a comeback for India later this year.

A few days ago, he shared a video of him bowling in the nets to give an update about his recovery, and during a recent podcast, he has now opened up about his battles during India’s nets session with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. According to him, Kohli likes to get challenged by him in the nets, but Rohit refuses to face him.

Speaking to Shubhankar Sharma on his YouTube channel, Shami said, “Virat se to mera hamesha se rehta hai ki hum ek dusre ko challenge dete hain (with Virat, it’s always like we challenge each other). He likes to hit good shots, and I like to get him out. The bonding and the friendship reflects in that. It also helps you focus and put in the effort as you simulate (fielding positions), for example, two (imaginary) slips in place, two gully fielders. (So, I challenge Virat) to come at me and score runs. We enjoy such things,” said Shami.

“Rohit to pehle he kehta hai,’mai  isko khelna pasand nahi karta’. Woh to pehle hi mana kar deta hai (Rohit says I don’t like to face him; he refuses to bat against me),” he added.

Shami to play vs Bangladesh?

India is set to travel to Sri Lanka later this month for a white-ball series and then will take on Bangladesh in a two-match Test series at home in September and October. Shami, who last played for India on November 19, 2023, will expect to get fit by then and feature in the red-ball series.