He had a poor Duleep Trophy 2025 campaign for the East Zone.
Star Indian pacer Mohammed Shami has contradicted the “lazy” tag given to him by the former India captain Virat Kohli. He also recalled a Champions Trophy 2025 incident involving Kohli during his recent appearance on a television show.
The 35-year-old emphasised on a seamer’s workload and their hard toil during a five-day-long Test fixture. He explained that a fast bowler has to “run the most,” so it should not be a big deal if they want to rest a little more. Shami also revealed that it is a very common practice to earn an informal name when a player enters the national cricket team.
“Your body gets tired when you play a Test match. I may have taken a nap, but to earn the ‘lazy’ tag, I don’t mind. However, I have the toughest job. I run the most. Whenever a situation arises, the fast bowler is called. It’s Virat’s harkat to describe me as ‘lazy’ or ‘lala.’ If you are in the Indian team, you are bound to get some name,” opined Shami on the India TV show Aap Ki Adalat.
The bowler also shared the story behind the viral picture of Kohli touching his mother’s feet after India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph in Dubai. Shami discussed that the batter went to meet with her and offered a respectful gesture as he informed the ex-skipper about his mother’s presence in the stadium.
“Virat used to speak to my mom over speaker phone. Mummy had never met him personally because my family rarely goes to see matches. They came to watch after 7-8 years. Mummy had gone to watch the Champions Trophy match and was called to the ground. I told Virat, mummy aayi hai,” he stated.
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Since his comeback from the ankle injury, which had kept him away from action for nearly an year following the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, the bowler has struggled to get back to his best. Though he claimed a stunning fifer on his return, against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy, Shami managed to scalp only four wickets in as many remaining matches of that tournament.
Following this, the former Gujarat Titans (GT) player also failed to bounce back in the latest Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The INR 10 crores recruit of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bagged only six wickets in nine IPL 2025 fixtures at an expensive economy of 11.23 before being axed from the playing XI. Moreover, the veteran pacer could not earn a spot in the young red-ball squad of India for the recent five-match tour of England.
But he featured in the Duleep Trophy 2025 quarter-finals for the East Zone. However, Shami once again continued his lean patch of form as he conceded 136 runs in 34 overs, while snaring only one wicket against the North Zone. However, the match ended in a draw. But Ankit Kumar’s North Zone advanced to the semi-finals after putting up 405 runs in the first innings, while Riyan Parag and Co. were bundled out for just 230.
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