'You Need Somebody Who's Like A Proper Bowler': Piyush Chawla's Honest Take On Mohammed Shami After His Fifer

His class bowling was the reason behind India’s five-wicket victory over the Kangaroos in the first ODI.

Mohammed Shami in action.

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Veteran Indian spinner Piyush Chawla reckoned that he would opt for a complete bowler like Mohammed Shami in the Indian lineup for the World Cup rather than Shardul Thakur after witnessing the first ODI against Australia in Mohali. During the first ODI against Australia, Shami was the star with the ball, taking a brilliant five-wicket haul in Mohali on Friday. The Bengal-based bowler gave away just 51 runs and ended up picking five crucial wickets, helping India restrict Australia to 276 runs.

This was so far Shami’s best outing with the ball in the 50-over format. His class bowling was the reason behind India’s five-wicket victory over the Kangaroos in the first ODI. Shami constantly bowled according to the conditions, hitting the deck alongside swinging the ball both ways.

Shardul Thakur on the other hand, had a torrid outing on the field in the first ODI against Australia. He conceded 78 runs in his 10-over spell and did not manage to take any wickets. Fans were disappointed to see Shard’s below-average performance.

During an interaction with Cricinfo, Chawla stated he would like to have someone like Shami, who is a proper bowler, than Shardul.

"100% agree with you? Because if we talk about Shardul's batting also, it's not that somebody will come and give you those quick-fire 30, 40 runs off 20 balls. He's a good player for a run a ball sometimes maybe like 24-ball 25 runs. And if you talk about his bowling, I agree that he has picked up wickets and he has got quite a few of them. But his economy rate is always on the high side, and if you talk about the conditions where India is going to play, most of the wicket is going to be a bit flat. So you need somebody who's like a proper bowler, who can come in one change and still bowl at the 135-140 mark," said Chawla.