Mohammed Shami says he isn't dwelling on an India recall, but his performance will once again remind the national selectors of his worth.
At the Bengal Cricket Academy ground in Kalyani on Sunday, the senior pacer finished with figures of 17.3-9-30-4 to give Bengal the advantage on Day I of their Ranji Trophy opener against Delhi. Thanks to Shami, the visitors could manage only a modest total of 240, after Bengal won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Bowling short spells on a humid day, discipline was the key element for Shami as he gave practically nothing away for a good part of the 17-and-a-half overs he sent down. Bengal had a fantastic chance to keep Delhi below 200, but unfortunately, Shami didn't get enough support from his pace colleagues Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar.
Though Mukesh, who took one wicket, didn't leak runs in his 17 overs, a little bit of extra penetration from him could have helped Bengal. Akash Deep, on the other hand, was disappointing with an economy rate of 4.35.
Akash began well, drawing first blood for Bengal when he knocked over the promising Sanat Sangwan in the sixth over of the game. But at one stage, when Delhi were reeling at 148/7, Bengal needed Akash to be a little more effective. For himself, Akash needed better figures at a time when he's in the fray to be picked for India's two-match Test series in New Zealand next month.
Hrithik Shokeen (56), essentially a bowler all-rounder, not just top-scored for Delhi coming out to bat at No. 8, but also stitched partnerships of 40 and 43 with Divij Mehra and tail-ender Navdeep Saini for the eighth and ninth wickets, respectively. When Shami cleaned up Mehra, Bengal still had a chance to limit the visitors to below 200, with the scorecard reading 188/8.
But barring Shami, the other bowlers struggled to dismiss the opponents' lower order, allowing Delhi those extra runs at the fag end of their first innings.
It required off-spinner Aamir Gani to break the stubborn ninth-wicket stand, when he trapped Saini LBW. A little later, Shami had Shokeen perishing at the slip cordon, ensuring the latter didn't add further runs.
Shami, however, wasn't at all pleased with the nature of the pitch on offer and hit out at the state association (CAB). "It was a bit on the slower side. With bowlers like Mukesh and Akash, no other team in India has a fast-bowling attack like ours. I'm not asking for a green top, but we've requested for a helpful wicket many times. However, there has been no response to that. I don't think we deserve this," Shami lashed out.
One perceives that the departure of Ajit Agarkar from the chief selector's post offers Shami a ray of hope, especially after Bhuvneshwar Kumar made an India comeback after four years. But like he said on Saturday, the pacer iterated that his focus is just on performing.
"It makes no difference to me (as to who's there in the selection panel). Whoever wants to do whatever is free to do it. My job is just to play and perform. And I need to do it smartly," Shami stated.
Brief scores: Delhi 240 (Hrithik Shokeen 56; Mohammed Shami 4/30) vs Bengal. At Stumps, Day I.