Mohammed Shami took his 42nd ODI wicket of the year vs West Indies on Sunday. (AP Photo)
Mohammed Shami finished the year with a very impressive tally of 42 wickets, the best by any bowler in 2019. This is only the fifth time in ODI history that an Indian bowler has ended the year as the most prolific.
Indians ending as the highest wicket-taker in ODIs in a calendar year:
1986 – Kapil Dev (32)
1998 – Ajit Agarkar (58)
2004 – Irfan Pathan (47)
2014 – Mohammed Shami (38)
2019 – Mohammed Shami (42*)
Asked during the India vs West Indies 3rd ODI who is his favourite Indian fast bowler, Sunil Gavaskar took Shami’s name.
“He reminds me of Malcolm Marshall, who still wakes me up from deep sleep,” Gavaskar said while commentating for ‘Star Sports’ during the third and final One-day International between India and the West Indies here.
Gavaskar also credited World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev for revolutionising Indian fast bowling.
Impressed with Shami’s skills, former India captain Gavaskar had earlier compared the fast bowler to a leopard.
“When he is running in, when the spider cam actually takes it, it is such a sight. It is almost like a leopard going for a kill,” Gavaskar had said.
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