Why is Mohammed Shami a crucial player for India in ICC events?

Team India is set to play their fourth successive ICC tournament finals in 21 months. Rohit Sharma and his side will take on either New Zealand or South Africa in the finals of the Champions Trophy 2025. While the world is praising Virat Kohli for his batting, there is one player who has been doing his work without getting his due accolades. The player in question is none other than veteran seamer Mohammed Shami. 

The 34-year-old, who has made his return to cricket after 14 months on the sidelines, was tasked with leading the bowling unit. Jasprit Bumrah’s injury and Mohammed Siraj not being included in the team added more pressure on Shami. The 34-year-old had picked two wickets in the series against England for 104 runs to raise doubts over his form. 

Once team India reached Dubai for Champions Trophy 2025, Shami has shown his true colours. The 34-year-old has played four games and picked up eight wickets with the ball. His rich haul of wickets also includes the fifer against Bangladesh and three wickets in the first semi-finals vs Australia. 

Mohammed Shami: India’s underrated match winner in ICC tournaments?

Having made his debut for India across formats in 2013, the future of Indian fast bowling saw Mohammed Shami’s emergence. The right-arm seamer since then has become a huge cog in the wheel for which ever captain he has played. Shami has picked wickets for India in the ICC tournaments and played his part with the ball. 

Shami’s wicket tally across various ICC tournaments 

ICC ODI World Cup: 55 wickets from 18 matches

ICC World Test Championship: 85 wickets from 24 matches

ICC T20 World Cup: 14 wickets from 14 matches 

ICC Champions Trophy: eight wickets from four matches 

When we speak about ICC ODI World Cups, Shami is the top wicket-taker for India. His 55 wickets from 18 matches include the 24 wickets he had picked in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The next best for India in the current era is Bumrah with 38 wickets from 20 matches. In the 2015 ODI World Cup, Shami had picked 17 wickets and 14 from four games in 2019. The right-arm seamer surprisingly picked two fifers, including a hattrick, in the 2019 World Cup but wasn’t given much game time. 

If we speak about the World Test Champions, Shami is the fifth-best wicket taker with 85 scalps. R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj are ahead of Shami in the list. His performances in the T20 World Cup have been decent but nothing much to write home about. 

What impact does Shami have for India in ICC tournaments?

In the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy, the importance of Shami was seen in the semi-finals versus Australia. The 34-year-old had dropped Travis Head in the first legal ball of the match. By the time he finished his spell of ten overs, Shami had picked up three wickets for 46 runs. 

𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐓! 🔥👊

Mohammed Shami delivers right when it matters! Removes Steve Smith, breaking a crucial partnership🏏#INDvsAUS #SteveSmith#MohammadShami pic.twitter.com/VNXBnIBoXY

— Pawansharma_1305 (@Pawankumar_1305) March 4, 2025

After getting the early wicket of Cooper Connolly, Shami was given a break. Rohit Sharma brought his most experienced bowler back into the attack. The move was to get rid of Steve Smith, who was proving to be the biggest obstacle for India. Shami’s introduction made Smith jittery and the Aussie skipper tried to innovate. The Indian pacer brought in his variations and experience into play and bowled a few slower balls. 

With the Australians nearing 200 and over 13 overs to play, Smith ventured down the track and missed a full toss. Shami hit the stumps with a perfect yorker and India got their man. Rohit’s gamble of bringing his ace pacer worked. This was the key difference between Australia scoring 264 on the board and the match being within India’s grasp. 

Skipper Rohit Sharma in particular has handled Shami very well. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, Siraj and Bumrah shared the new ball attack, while Shami was the first change bowler. The right-arm seamer was the difference maker in the semi-finals vs. New Zealand in Mumbai. 

After getting the wickets of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, Shami broke the back of Kiwi’s batting unit. In the current tournament, Indian team management is following the same pattern and making sure that Shami doesn’t overbowl. His impact in the middle overs in particular has been seen, especially in the match versus Australia. 

Finally, the biggest impact was seen in the recent home series against New Zealand and the subsequent tour of Australia. For long, Shami has been a key bowler with the old ball in the Test format in India. The hosts missed the ace pacer during the tour of Australia, where he could have been a huge force with Bumrah and Siraj during the tour. Shami might not get the accolades he deserves but he does play a major role for India in the ICC tournaments.