Irfan Pathan impressed with Mohammed Shami, hopes India get bowling combination right for ICC World Cup 2023

Shami
was
back
bowling
at
his
best
as
India
bundled
New
Zealand
for
a
paltry
108
in
the
second
ODI
of
the
three-match
series
at
the
Shaheed
Veer
Narayan
Singh
International
Stadium
in
Raipur
on
Saturday
(January
21).

The
32-year-old’s
figures
of
3
for
18
in
6
overs
followed
by
Rohit
Sharma’s
knock
of
51
helped

India
win
by
8
wickets
and
take
an
unassailable
2-0
lead
in
the
series.
And
following
that
result,
Pathan
was
full
of
praise
for
Shami,
who
started
the
destruction
of
the
Kiwis
batters.

“I
was
really
impressed
with
Shami,
because
the
way
he
set
it
up,
the
first
wicket,
the
first
over.
Everything
started
from
there
itself
because
in
the
start
we
kept
bowling
then
with
a
little
bit
of
variation
that
was
there
in
his
wrists,
getting
the
ball
in
was
very
effective,”
Pathan
told
exclusively
on

Star
Sports
show

‘Follow
the
Blues’.

“The
three
wickets
that
were
taken
by
him,
out
of
which
he
got
two
in
his
first
spell
and
then
dismissing
Bracewell
with
a
bouncer,
who
could
have
been
a
threat
to
team
India.”

Pathan
was
especially
impressed
with
how
Shami
used
the
pitch
and
added
that
every
wicket
that
day
was
crucial.

“Changing
the
angle
against
him
according
to
the
situation,
he
used
the
pitch
well
bowling
a
bouncer
and
took
his
wicket,”
Pathan
added.

So,
each
and
every
wicket
was
very
crucial,
his
spell
was
very
impressive
and
he
needed
a
wicket
desperately
because
his
performance
was
not
up
to
the
mark,
especially
in
the
last
seven
matches.

“And
after
a
very
long
time
he
got
those
three
wickets
which
were
very
important
and
very
impressive
as
well.”

India
lacked
heat
in
World
Cups

The
former
all-rounder,
who
used
to
bowl
with
the
new
ball
for
the
country,
also
spoke
on
what
areas
India
should
improve
on,
in
their
quest
for
the
ICC
Men’s
ODI
World
Cup
2023.

“India
need
to
focus
on
bowling.
It
is
very
important
to
plan
what
combination
we
should
be
playing
and
which
bowlers
should
get
a
chance,
depending
on
how
they
make
the
most
of
the
pitches,”
Pathan
said.

“The
biggest
problem
here,
is
that
the
pitches
are
flat
and
our
bowling
is
not
up
to
the
mark
and
that’s
what
we
have
seen
in
the
last
two
T20
World
Cups
against
Pakistan
as
well
as
against
England
in
the
semi-finals.”

The
former
left-armer
pacer
also
believes
India
“lacked
heat”
in
the
previous
two
World
Cups,
but
with
the
current
options
they
can
cope
with
playing
on
any
kind
of
pitch.

“Our
bowling
definitely
lacked
heat.
So,
this
is
what
I
personally
want
to
see
going
forward,
that
we
have
two
bowlers
who
do
not
require
the
special
pitches
that
we
expect,”
Pathan
added.

“They
have
their
respective
skills
either
by
pace
or
the
variation
and
I
think
that
the
team
management
and
the
selectors
and
everyone,
even
the
captain
Rohit
Sharma
are
going
in
the
right
direction.”