Answering a fan question on Friday in London, veteran Pakistani player Shoaib Malik has said that Mohammed Shami is the best Indian bowler. He has been recalled into the Indian ODI squad after playing his last match against Australia in the 2015 World Cup.
India starts their title defence against Pakistan on 4th June. Before this the Men in Blue has to play two warm up matches against New Zealand on 28th and against Bangladesh on 30th. On the other hand Pakistan will play against Bangladesh today while take on Australia on May 29th at Birmingham.
India and Pakistan have been clubbed in the same group with Sri Lanka, South Africa in Group B. India defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets to finish the group stage on the top.
“The best bowler in the Indian team is Mohammad Shami,” said Malik, “Not becuase he is Muslim. I have seen his bowling and played against him also. For me I find him tough.” Malik also said that he is friends with everyone in the Indian team as they are from same batch and because he has played against them a number of times. “I am very good friends with the whole Indian cricket team because we are all from the same batch and we have played a lot against each other,” he said.
Mohammed Shami made his One day international debut against Pakistan on 6th January 2013. Since then he has played a total of 47 matches taking 87 wickets with an economy of 5.54 runs per over. His best figures in ODI format are 4/35. He has been in and out of the Indian team due to frequent injuries. The other fast bowlers in the squad are JaspritBumrah, Bhvuneshwar Kumar, UmeshYadav, HardikPandya.
He has also played 22 test matches and 6 T20 matches only for team India. In the 22 test matches he has taken 76 wickets with best figures of 5/47.
The Champions Trophy tournament will begin on the 1st of June with hosts England taking on Bangladesh at Kennington Oval, London. Top two teams in each group will progress into the semi-finals.
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