3 reasons why Mohammed Shami should be picked over Shardul Thakur in Playing XI in World Cup 2023

Mohammed Shami has been a critical part of the Indian team for a while now and has been part of the side’s major world competitions since 2015. He will be taking part again in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India but he might not be a starter though.

Shardul Thakur has taken over the third pacer slot in the side and has done exceedingly well in the middle overs. But fans feel that Mohammed Shami can also do a great job in that position and can very well replace Thakur in the line-up. So let’s take a look at 3 reasons why Mohammed Shami should be picked over Shardul Thakur in Playing XI in World Cup 2023

1) Better line and length

Mohammed Shami is always known for hitting the right line and lengths which can trouble the opposition batters. Shami’s red ball game improvement can also be seen in his white-ball game as he knows the exact area to target on. 

His accurate line and length can help the Indian team in the middle-overs and more so his ability to break big partnerships can be a pivotal reason for him starting over Shardul Thakur come the ODI World Cup 2023

2) More experience

If Mohammed Shami does play a game in the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023, it would be his third appearance in the World Cup. He has previously taken part in the 2015 and 2019 editions of the tournament and had done exceedingly well whenever he was given an opportunity to play for India.

This would be Shardul Thakur’s first ever ODI World Cup, so the Indian team might just want to look at Mohammed Shami given the kind of experience he has and how he has performed brilliantly under pressure.

3) India do not need extra batting option 

The only reason why Shardul Thakur has taken away the third pacer slot as of now is because of his better batting ability. India have been looking at increasing their depth in batting and with Shardul Thakur in the line-up, they can do so easily.

Indian batting is not a cause of concern at all and with Shami in the line-up, they can get the opposition batters out cheaply. On the positive side, Mohammed Shami’s batting has also been great and has shown that he can hit the bowlers out of the park as well.