Team India’s wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik said that the Indian team is missing the injured Mohammed Shami in the ongoing Boxing Day Test against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

33-year-old fast bowler Shami was the highest wicket-taker in the 2023 ODI World Cup. He was rested for the series against Australia and South Africa. It was expected that Shami would play an important role in the two-match Test series against the Proteas, but due to an ankle injury, he was ruled out of this series as well.

On the second day of the Boxing Day Test, India scored 245 runs thanks to a brilliant century from KL Rahul, after which the hosts ended the day with a score of 256/5.

Dinesh Karthik gave a big statement regarding Mohammed Shami

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said, “He (Mohammed Shami) has grown in stature as a bowler and leader of the fast bowling group. He is an able lieutenant of Jasprit Bumrah. You want to bowl with a straight seam on a pitch like this. I promise you that, if he had played, he would have definitely got some wickets. The Indian team is really missing him.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj took two wickets each for India. On his Test debut, Prasidh Krishna gave 61 runs in 15 overs and took one wicket. Seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur could not take a single wicket giving 57 runs in 12 overs. Karthik felt that Prasidh and Shardul did not provide enough support to Bumrah and Siraj on the second day.

Karthik further said, “Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna were going close to 118 runs in their 27 overs. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj gave only 111 runs in their 31 overs. Siraj was a bit expensive, especially in the last spell as he bowled some brilliant balls. You could see that whenever he was on the field you felt that he could get you a wicket or two. Whereas with Shardul or Prasidh, you have to wait for the batsman to make a mistake.”

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