Shami Ahmed - a bowler with a 'killer instinct'

08 January, 2013

Shami Ahmed is the talk of the town after his tremendous bowling performance, which helped India avoid an embarrassing whitewash at the hands of the visiting Pakistan team. It was a dream come true debut for Ahmed, who finished with amazing figures of 1 wicket for 23 runs with 4 maiden overs.

MANY PEOPLE who have known him personally are not surprised with his performance in Indian colours. He first came into the limelight after his standout performances while representing the India A Team.

He is one of the two pace bowlers in the present Indian team playing their domestic cricket for Bengal. The other being Ashok Dinda. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is very proud of their performance in Indian colours. Gautam Dasgupta, a member of the CAB with a sense of pride in his voice said, “He started with the Bengal under-22 team and after that he began to represent Bengal in the domestic circuit.”

Ahmed’s performances grabbed the eyeball of the selectors and he was selected for the India A team. It was his promising performances in West Indies and New Zealand that experts began to take note of.

“For 2011 and 2012, his performances in the domestic circuit for Bengal and East zone have been very good,” said Dasgupta. In his career of 15 First Class matches he has taken an impressive 27 wickets and has come up with a five-wicket haul thrice. Along with it, he has taken 14 wickets in List A cricket, where he has taken four-wicket hauls twice. He averages 24.67 and 21.42 in first class and List A bowling respectively.

After making his national debut in 2010 against Assam, the young pacer has taken huge steps in such a short span. The selectors also need to be congratulated for a gutsy selection of the player who was brought into the team with an experience of not more than two years in the domestic circuit. The player is no mug with the bat, as the player played an important hand in helping India A win a Test match scoring unbeaten 27 runs in West Indies by partnering with Cheteshwar Pujara for the last wicket.

Lalchand Rajput was the coach of the Indian A team then. He was all praises for Ahmed after his performances with the ball. He managed to take 13 wickets during the West Indies A tour. Rajput even sent a report to the BCCI stating that the bowler could be a fine prospect for India and it has indeed come true at this hour. He also said that the bowler should be given a break in the Indian team. “He is sharp and bowls at a consistent pace. He consistently bowls at around 140km/h. He should not curtail his pace. With experience other things will follow,” Rajput said.

After his ODI debut, Rajput, like cricket fans around the nation was extremely pleased with Ahmed and praised the player for his skills. “He had an excellent debut. He wants to do well in the game and he has the killer instinct,” Rajput told this citizen journalist .

But, after his impressive debut, he needs to be consistent while representing India at the topmost level. His next immediate test would lie against the touring English side in the ODI series starting from January 11. With this talent potential, it is not 'if', but when will the player be a world class prospect threatening batsmen all over the world.