India's ace speedster Mohammed Shami has questioned the team management's decision to bench him for the ODI World Cup semifinal in 2019 against New Zealand despite delivering terrific performances during the tournament.
Shami just played four games during the course of the tournament and bagged 14 wickets in the process, including a hat-trick against Afghanistan which helped India snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The right-arm pacer bagged two four-fors and one five-wicket haul and bowled at an impressive economy rate of 5.48 runs per over.
Speaking to Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, Shami expressed his disappointment and mentioned that he is unable to figure out the reason behind the same.
"In 2019 I did not play the first 4-5 games. In the next game, I took a hat-trick, then picked up a five-wicket haul and then four wickets in the next game. A similar happened in 2023. I did not play in the first few games and then picked a fifer, then four wickets and then a five-wicket haul again," Shami said.
While Shami was the second leading wicket-taker in the 2019 edition behind Jasprit Bumrah, in 2023 he finished as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. However, even in 2023, Shami was not given a game until Hardik Pandya got injured against Bangladesh at the MCA Stadium in Pune and India needed to tweak their combination against New Zealand in Dharamsala.
"The one thing I keep wondering is every team needs players who can perform well. I took 13 wickets in three matches. What more do you expect from me? I neither have questions nor do I have answers. I can only prove myself when I get the opportunity. You gave me a chance, and I took 13 wickets in three matches. Then we lost to New Zealand. Played four matches overall and picked 14 wickets. In 2023, I picked 24 wickets in seven matches," Shami added.
