There are better fast bowlers than Mohammed Shami in Indian T20 cricket: Ricky Ponting on Asia Cup snub
India Today
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting weighed in on Mohammed Shami's absence from India's Asia Cup squad and said he believes India will rely more on their spinners even at the T20 World Cup.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting on Friday said Mohammed Shami's absence from India's Asia Cup T20 squad is understandable, adding that the senior pacer is more explosive in the longest format of the game. India on Monday announced a 15-member squad for the continental showpiece, starting August 27 in the UAE.
Ricky Ponting said India have got better T20 bowlers than Mohammed Shami at the moment while stressing that the Asian giants will look to rely on their spinners more not just in the Asia Cup but also at the T20 World Cup.
With Jasprit Bumrah injured, India picked only 3 frontline pacers in the 15-man squad for Asia Cup. While senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to lead the attack, young Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan made the cut for Asia Cup. India picked Deepak Chahar but he is part of the list of 3 standby players.
In contrast, India picked as many as 4 frontline spinners, including R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal, for the challenge in the UAE.
Shami last player for India in the shortest format of the game at the T20 World Cup but the 31-year-old played ODIs as recently as July this year in England.
"He's been a very, very good bowler for India for a long time now. If you look at his strengths, his Test cricket is probably where he thrives the most," Ponting told the ICC.
"I think there are better fast bowlers in Indian T20 cricket than Shami and they've only named three (for the Asia Cup). So if there's potentially four named in the squad he might be the fourth man in.
