Cricket News

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami nominated for Arjuna Award

Star Indian bowler Mohammed Shami has been nominated for the illustrious Arjuna Award. The move comes on behalf of the Indian Cricket Board who made a special request to the Indian Ministry for Sports.

Mohammed Shami was in prime form during the recently concluded ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. 33-year-old picked 24 wickets with a best of 7/57 versus New Zealand during the 1^st Semi-Final game in Mumbai.

The Indian pacer is set to join the team soon for the two-match test series set to begin in Centurion on the 26^th of December. Rohit Sharma will hope that his star pacer is fit in time for the huge few months ahead for the Indian Cricket Team.

Mohammed Shami nominated for special award –

The Indian Cricket Board has made a special request to the Indian Ministry for Sports to include Mohammed Shami for the Arjuna Award. The special request was made after the Indian pacer’s exploits with the ball during the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Mohammed Shami was the star bowler for India with 24 wickets from just seven games. His haul of wickets included three fifers with a best of 7/57 against the Kiwis. This is the best bowling figures for India in ODI cricket.

The right-arm pacer also became India’s highest wicket-taker in ODI World Cup history crossing the 50 wickets mark. India went on to lose the final to Australia where Shami again gave the Indian a fight chance in Ahmedabad.

Shardul Thakur had played the initial few games of the ODI World Cup tournament before Shami replaced him for the New Zealand game. In his very first game, the Indian quick picked a five-wicket haul. In the next game versus England, Mohammed Shami picked 4 wickets. His battle with Ben Stokes was one of the highlights of the tournament.

In the game against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, the 33-year-old picked his then-ODI best figures of 5/18. Thanks to that effort, India managed to bowl out Sri Lanka for just 55 runs to win the game by a whopping 302 runs.

The Indian team management has currently rested the pace bowler for the white ball series against South Africa. There are reports that Mohammed Shami is struggling with ankle issues but is expected to be fit for the test series. Rahul Dravid and his staff will also hope to have Shami in prime fitness for the upcoming 5-match test series against England.