We will target the injured Jonny Bairstow, says Mohammed Shami

One need not specifically mention that Mohammed Shami is a very integral part of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri’s future plans for the Indian side and the West Bengal fast bowler has done enough to earn that trust. Shami has finally found some form after going a little off-beat due to some personal reasons.

In the third Test, Shami’s impact on the game was tangible and palpable. Although he picked up just two wickets in the match, he kept bowling in the tight channels and kept the batsmen thinking. He was unfortunate not to have a few more wickets, but his contribution to the side was pivotal.

Shami believes it’s important to have a spinner in the side as the ball might turn on the final day. In the press conference held in Southampton ahead of the fourth Test, he said that he wouldn’t prefer going in with five fast bowlers in a Test match.

“It’s hard to decide to field five quicks in a Test match. According to me, there should be one spinner as on the fifth day, the ball will turn. I can definitely say that there will be a good result on this wicket,” Shami said while talking to the reporters.

We will target Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow has been in incredible form in the last couple of years, but the wicketkeeper-batsman picked up an injury during the third Test which is causing some tension in the English dressing room. But the 28-year-old is fit enough to feature in the fourth Test which will commence in less than 48 hours and the Indian cricketers have already instigated the mind games.

Shami said that he and the other bowlers will be targetting Bairstow with some bouncers as the fear factor might still be loitering in his mind. He also believes that every bowler in the world does that and they will do the same.

“Obviously, when you see that a batsman has a weakness and feels uncomfortable in one aspect, you’d prefer to work on that. It’s not just me, any fast bowler would want to work on a batsman’s weak zone. So we will definitely do that (Talking about targetting Jonny Bairstow),” Shami concluded.

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