Earlier teams used to plan against us easily but today they are forced to think otherwise – Mohammed Shami

India’s ace paceman Mohammed Shami has heaped praise on the team’s pace battery. Shami stated that earlier teams used to plan against them easily but now they are forced to think otherwise. The fast bowler feels the Indian team has an advantage as they have four-five bowlers who can consistently bowl above 140 kmph.

The Indian pace unit has taken giant strides in the last couple of years and it has played a key role in the team’s success, especially in the overseas conditions. Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah have delivered the goods in all the conditions.

Furthermore, India has bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan and Navdeep Saini. The young guns have come up in the ranks and they have been right on the money.

“The best thing about our bowling unit is that we have 4-5 pacers who can constantly bowl at over 140-145 clicks. You can find 1-2, but to find 4-5 is tough, and we have that. We force the opposition to think what wickets they want to offer us.

“I don’t think we’ve had bowlers who could bowl at this pace earlier, we never had 4-5 of them coming in units. Earlier, teams used to plan easily against us but today they are forced to think otherwise,” Shami told India News.

Shami added that as senior bowlers of the team, the pace trio tries to make the youngsters comfortable and ask them the right questions, which can help them improve.

“As seniors, our duty is to tell the youngsters to ask us things freely. Overall, the atmosphere and camaraderie between the juniors and seniors is amazing.

“The thing is, all of us will have to leave the game someday but it is important to think about what we are leaving behind, for the team and the youngsters. It’s important to make your country, captain and the board proud,” Shami said.

India will face New Zealand in the World Test Championship final at the Rose Bowl, Southampton from June 18.