Is Mohammed Shami playing in today’s semi-final match vs New Zealand?

Shami playing in today’s semi-final match: There were a lot of concerns regarding the Indian fast bowler’s inclusion in the Playing XI.

The first semi-final of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is going to be played between India and New Zealand at Old Trafford. The intriguing match will start in a few minutes from now.

It was New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat. Other than disclosing the only change in their team, Williamson gave reasons behind opting to bat first.

One team . One goal . One love . Go well boys , power to u all !!!! #CWC2019 #SemiFinal1 #INDvNZ @bcci

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“We’re going to have a bat. It looks like a good surface. We have played a number of games here. A toss-up with the overheads, but it’ll be around all day, so we need to get the job done first up. [Lockie] Ferguson comes in for [Tim] Southee,” Williamson was quoted as saying.

Shami playing in today’s semi-final match?

In a strange turn of events, India have decided to bench Mohammed Shami for this match as well. The development was made public by India captain Virat Kohli during the toss. “We would’ve batted first. Fresh wicket, nice and hard, and not moist,” Kohli was quoted as saying.

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“A bit of rain around as well, the ball will get wet as the game goes on. It’s going to remain similar throughout the course of the game – we have done well in Manchester. We have had two good games in Manchester. We need to remember why we are in the semis. [Yuzvendra] Chahal comes back in for Kuldeep Yadav,” Kohli added.

In the four ODIs which Shami played in the tournament as Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s replacement, he dismissed 14 batsmen at an average of 13.78, an economy rate of 5.48 and a strike rate of 31.6. Despite his stellar form, watching Shami not getting included in this match has come as a massive surprise.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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