Mohammed Shami sends clear message to Prasidh, Siraj after Headingley disaster: 'Bumrah needs support'

Mohammed Shami has shared how the Indian fast bowlers including Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj can improve their performance with the help of Jasprit Bumrah. He added that they will need to support Bumrah more for India to win the series. read more

Indian cricket team fast bowler Mohammed Shami has slammed the performance of the bowling unit, barring Jasprit Bumrah, in the first Test against England at Leeds, which the visiting team lost by five wickets. Bumrah, who took a fifer in the first innings and could have had more wickets if Indian fielders had held onto their catches, was the lone bright spot in Indian bowling in the Headingley Test as Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur failed to provide him the required support.

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A latest report on Thursday stated that Bumrah may sit out the second Test at Edgbaston despite India being 1-0 down as the team management wants to manage his workload. This is set to add to India’s problems.

Shami sends clear message to Prasidh, Siraj

Shami, who was ruled out of the England Test series due to an injury, feels there’s still a lot of work to be done on Indian bowlers who must talk to Bumrah and learn from him about planning and execution.

“Bumrah did not get the support he needed, is what I feel, otherwise we could have had a bigger lead in the first innings,” Shami said on his YouTube channel while discussing India’s six-run lead after the first innings.

Talking about England’s successful 371-run chase, Shami said: “Bowling could have been better. We could have drawn the game….Other Indian bowlers should talk to Bumrah and learn from him. They should talk about planning with him and support him. If they will support Bumrah, then we can easily win the match. If I talk about the first match, then I think we need to do a little work in the bowling.”

Shami acknowledged that Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each on Day 5, but added that it came too late. “Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna picked up two wickets each in the 2nd innings, but by the time Shardul dismissed two England batters, the match was out of India’s reach,” he added.

“It’s important someone supports Bumrah. As a bowling side, we gave up many easy runs. We will need to find out how to strengthen Indian bowling if we have to win the series.”

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