'There is a load when you are the one main fast bowler and the other is an all-rounder. You have to pick wickets and lead from the front.'
Mohammed Shami has conceded that operating as India's lone front-line pacer after coming back from a lengthy injury layoff is a heavy "responsibility", even as he tries to regain his "rhythm" to suit the team's needs in the ongoing Champions Trophy .
Throughout the ICC showpiece, in Dubai, Shami shared the new ball duties with either Harshit Rana or Hardik Pandya because of the injury-forced absence of Jasprit Bumrah.
Rana is still learning the ropes, while Pandya is an all-rounder and delivering 10 overs in an ODI, precisely not his territory.
Shami has so far picked eight wickets in the tournament.
"I am trying to get my rhythm back and contribute more for the team. It is a responsibility when there are no two proper fast bowlers and I have to shoulder more responsibility," said Shami, in an interaction after India's semi-final victory over Australia in Dubai on Tuesday night.
He said his workload is heavier without Bumrah steaming in at the other end but he is trying to give more than a 100 per cent to the role.
"There is a load when you are the one main fast bowler and the other is an all-rounder. You have to pick wickets and lead from the front.
"I have become used to this load and am trying my best to make it easy for others and give more than 100 per cent," he said.
Shami was sidelined for over a year with an ankle injury that he picked during the 2023 ODI World Cup. The veteran said he is now ready to shoulder the responsibility of bowling long spells.
"The trust debate ends when you get selected in the team. I don't think that one should worry about his fitness too much. We just need to put in the effort and see how your body takes it. After all, we are labourers.
"I am now ready to bowl long spells. Short spells are anyways easy -- 6 balls or 12 balls -- and in limited-overs cricket it doesn't matter whether it's 10 or six overs," he noted.
The 34-year-old bowled his full quota of 10 overs against Bangladesh and Australia, while he bowled just eight and four overs against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively in the earlier matches, primarily because the spinners bowled nearly 35 overs in those games.
Being at one venue helped me
Shami said it is an advantage for him that all of India's Champions Trophy matches are being played in Dubai.
"It has definitely helped us because we know the conditions and the behaviour of the pitch. It is a plus point that you are playing all the matches at one venue.
"The main thing is to gauge the conditions and know how the pitch behaves because you are playing at one venue and you can get to know it well," he said.
Shami's brilliant, says Gambhir
Head coach Gautam Gambhir too praised Shami for the way he returned from the injury and delivered for the team.
"He's brilliant. He's a world-class performer. He's phenomenal. The hunger he brings on the table, the way he trains, the way he practices, the amount of bowling he does in practice sessions. He prepares himself really well. That's why you see all those results," said Gambhir.
Versatility, he added, makes Shami a dangerous customer across formats.
"I think that he's a phenomenal bowler, be it in red ball cricket or in 50-over format. And he's shown that, making a comeback after one and a half years. These are not easy conditions as a fast bowler.
"But still he bowled those tough overs as well. So I have no doubt that he's going to continue doing the same thing for a long time for Indian cricket."
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