'Shocker' - Fans disappointed over Mohammed Shami's exclusion from India's T20 World Cup squad

Mohammed Shami has returned to the Indian limited-overs setup for the upcoming T20I series against Australia and South Africa, but could not make the cut for the 15-member T20 World Cup squad, which was announced on September 12. With the Indian young seamers failing to make a mark in the recent Asia Cup 2022, there were a lot of talks over the return of Shami, and now even though he has returned to the side, he will have to sit out as a reserve in Australia.  

Shami last played a T20I for India in the previous edition of T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE. The 32-year-old has got the pace and skills to trouble any batter in the world, and he could have been the perfect solution to India lacking bowlers who can do the damage up front.  

Though Shami has been expensive at the back end of the innings, he is one of the best in the business when it comes to hitting the seam and he has a brilliant wrist position. He was the leading wicket-taker for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 with 20 wickets and played an important part in the title winning campaign for his side.  

India still have to sort their bowling plans that hampered their chances in the recent Asia Cup 2022. Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded a lot of runs in the 19th over twice while Hardik Pandya struggled whenever he was been chosen as the third seamer in the side. Therefore, Shami could have been a perfect choice for the third seamer in the playing XI had he made it to the 15-member squad. Shami could still be drafted into the squad in case any pacer gets injured.

India's squad for T20 WC: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Y Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, B Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh

Here's how Twitter reacted to Mohammed Shami's omission:

Patel brothers got preference over #Shami 🥺😲😲😦😯 #T20WorldCup #BCCI #T20WorldCup2022

— Jeetu (@Jeetu_2021) September 12, 2022

What about Shami, Umran?
You are going to play on Australian bouncy pitched!!

Disappointed ☹️
Not going to cheer for India This time!!#Shami #UmranMalik

— Ritu Raj kaRna (@im_RituRaj_) September 12, 2022

#SanjuSamson over Pant. Bishnoi over Ashwin/ Axar. #Shami over Arshdeep. @BCCI does not intend to win the #WorldCup2022 More likely another loss to @TheRealPCB and am early exit beckons. Selectors and think tank comprised of ODI failures can't plan for the modern T20 game! https://t.co/irbBcJFDFN

— Adrien wojnorowski (@wojnowespn) September 12, 2022

#Shami is much better option than #harshal_patel in Australia for #T20wc2022

— Virendra Shekhawat (@Virendr03447820) September 12, 2022

Reminder! we are going to play in Australia and except bumraah there is no other fast bowler who has speed of 145+kph #T20wc2022 #Shami shami #indiasquad indiasquad

— . (@mostlysane56) September 12, 2022

The non-selection of #shami Team India's main squad for #T20WC2022 has been really a shocker!#BCCI #CricbuzzLive

— Gurudatt Rao 🇮🇳🏳️‍🌈🇨🇵🇮🇱🇷🇺🇹🇼 (@GurudattJRao) September 12, 2022