Mohammed Shami’s IPL start shows ‘road to redemption’, says Pujara

Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara praised Delhi Capitals for using Sameer Rizvi as the impact substitute against Lucknow Super Giants, saying the move paid off. He also highlighted Kuldeep Yadav’s confidence and Mohammed Shami’s strong start this IPL season.

Hyderabad: Former India batter and JioStar expert Cheteshwar Pujara said that bringing Sameer Rizvi as the impact substitute ahead of Ashutosh Sharma was a good move by Delhi Capitals against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL league match on Wednesday night.

Speaking on Star Sports ‘Amul Cricket Live’ programme, Pujara said the team management backed Rizvi, despite losingearly wickets and it paid off.

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“Rizvi held one end while Stubbs secured the other and their partnership was crucial. Batting wasn’t easy as LSG bowlers got plenty of help under lights, which is why they picked four early wickets,” Pujara said.

“They bowled well under pressure, but the Stubbs-Rizvi pair took the game away. Rizvi’s knock of 70 runs helped him prove his worth to the DC team management and I want Delhi to back him in upcoming games. He deserves to play in more games after this clutch knock. Whether he starts in the Playing XI or comes in as impact player remains to be seen, but I’d pick him over Ashutosh Sharma and Karun Nair,” he said.

On how Kuldeep Yadav’s increased confidence has transformed his bowling, Pujara said: “Confidence plays a very important role in a bowler’s performance. The way Kuldeep Yadav has bowled in the last two years is because of his confidence. He is bowling without any fear.”

“There was a time when he didn’t have much faith in his bowling, but those days are gone. When a bowler’s confidence increases, he starts picking up wickets and the hunger to do well increases,” he said.

“In Kuldeep’s case, even if he gets hit for a six, he does not shy away from giving flight to the ball and bowling in the hitting zones to tempt the batter to play a rash stroke and get him out. Kuldeep’s confidence has improved a lot since joining DC. With confidence, his skill execution has seen an improvement too and that was quite evident in the encounter against LSG,” Pujara explained.

On Mohammed Shami’s impactful start to this IPL season, Pujara said: “This season of the IPL is very important for Mohammed Shami and the way he started off the tournament with this performance against DC shows he means business. Yes, his figures read 1 for 28, but it was Shami who played a crucial role in helping his side get off to a strong start in the powerplay. He first got rid of KL Rahul on the very first ball of the run chase and full credit to Shami. He knew that Rahul loves to play the inside out shot, so he bowled a wide delivery. “Rahul played the inside out shot but it went straight into the hands of the deep point fielder. Then, he restricted the run flow by bowling tight lines and did not allow the batters to score runs,” he said.

“Shami has been playing domestic cricket across all formats in the last one year and the performances have been good. He is translating his domestic form into the IPL. This performance against Delhi is just the beginning of Mohammed Shami’s road to redemption,” Pujara concluded.