India‘s pace attack will target Jonny Bairstow’s broken finger if he is able to defy injury and take part in the fourth Test.
Mohammed Shami confirmed the tourists’ collective intention to hone in on Bairstow’s potential “weak zone” in Southampton.
Shortly before Bairstow began testing his left middle finger at England practice, with a view to proving he might even yet be able to keep wicket instead of Jos Buttler, Shami left him in no doubt about what to expect if and when he bats.
Asked if he would be tempted to target Bairstow’s injury, the India seamer said: “Obviously. When you see that a batsman has a weakness and he feels uncomfortable in some way, you’d prefer to work on that aspect.
“It’s not just me – any fast bowler will want to target his weak zone – so we will definitely look at that.”
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Watch #TeamIndia get into the groove ahead of the 4th Test against England at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/nBYixzK99P
Shami believes India’s pace attack, which outshone England’s at Trent Bridge last week – as the tourists reduced their series arrears to 2-1 with two to play – is currently the envy of world cricket.
“If you compare one on one (with England or any other opponent), we have better bowlers,” he said.
“When we hear this, it feels very good and takes our confidence sky high. India’s best pace attack is in front of you, performing and helping the team win.”
It is a bold statement perhaps, given England house James Anderson – seven wickets away from becoming the most successful pace bowler in global history – with new-ball partner Stuart Broad second in the national all-time list.
Shami added: “We’ve been able to learn a great deal from Anderson. We saw him on the last tour here…so far, what I’ve learnt from Anderson is this: the stricter and the more accurate you are, the better it is.”
TOUGH TIMES
Shami is as yet the least effective of the tourists’ pace bowlers this summer, with eight wickets at 41.5 each, after setting aside personal issues surrounding the apparent breakdown of his marriage.
“The last eight months have been tough for me…with the family matter,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what happened or didn’t – the period was very stressful for me. I was disturbed about it for some time. (But) at some point, I had to decide that representing the country came first.”
With that in mind, Shami has been a mainstay of an attack still missing the injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar but bolstered by the return to fitness of Jasprit Bumrah.
“The place where I was feeling disturbed…I just got out of there,” he said. Somewhere I felt that if the country needed me, and if I stopped, it would be a loss for my country. Yes, I was struggling with that issue – but being here matters more to me.”
