His passion for the game bursts forth each time he is handed the ball by his skipper. He briskly walks back to his run-up, charges in and lets it fly, rarely letting his pace drop below 140 kmph — the standard yardstick used to differentiate between genuine pacers and trundlers.
Had the sturdy pacer, who will celebrate his 24th birthday on Saturday, not been in love with his craft, he would have struggled to cope with the workload he has had to shoulder since making a sensational Test debut against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in November last year.
Since his return to the Team India fold midway through the ODI series against Australia on October 23 in Ranchi, Shami has sent down 156.3 overs in 18 ODIs and 224 overs in six Test matches, claiming 40 and 27 wickets respectively. For the past four months, Shami has led the Indian attack in both forms of the game and but for the second innings in Durban against South Africa — when he was required to bowl just 2 overs — has never failed to pick up wickets.
While it is surely a testimony to Shami's physical and mental strength, the question being asked is whether the Indian selectors and the team management are doing the right thing by literally bowling him into the ground.
Shami's first coach, Badruddin Siddique, is a bit concerned about the workload on his ward, but is confident that Shami can handle it. "Right from a very young age he has had this ability to bowl long spells without dropping his pace. He has always trained hard and continues to do so even now. That is why he has been able to shoulder the burden very capably," Badruddin told TOI from Amroha.
The veteran coach agreed that the Indian think tank needs to nurture Shami. "They could have rested him in the match against Afghanistan and given Ishwar Pandey a chance, but I understand it is hard for any team to go in without their No. 1 pace bowler, especially so for India where fast bowling resources are very scarce," Badruddin opined.
Describing his ward as a "lambi race ka ghoda" (a thoroughbred), Badruddin said: "It is a big year for Indian cricket with many important tournaments and series lined up. If Shami manages to pace himself and come through unscathed, I have no doubt in my mind that he will have a long career."
Talking about the Australian system, which follows a strict rotation policy with regard to their pace options — they sent Mitchell Johnson home from India just before the series-decider in the 7-match ODI series in India so that he would be fit for the Ashes. They also sent the left-arm-pacer back from South Africa on Thursday and rested him for the three-match T20 series against South Africa so that he can be fresh again for the World T20 in Bangladesh — Badruddin felt such an approach is practical only when you have five or six top-line pacers at your disposal.
Contrast that with India, who talked about rotation only when it comes to their batsmen on their ill-fated tour of Australia in 2011-2012. "It is not easy to bowl 30-35 overs per innings in a Test match. A bowler like Shami also needs a break to work on his shortcomings," said Badruddin.
"He benefitted immensely under Wasim Akram during his stint at KKR. His wrist position and release is impeccable. His strength is bowling with the old ball, but he wants to improve his variations in order to be more effective while bowling at the death," added Badruddin, who is planning to come to Kolkata later this week to work with Shami on his variations before the pacer flies back for World T20.
The nation, meanwhile, will be keeping its fingers crossed over Shami's fitness, hoping that the pacer with a high pedigree will deliver the derby spoils — sooner than later.
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