‘Hungry, motivated Shami is still one of the best’ Ishan Kishan

The fire burns inside Mohammed Shami even after tallying 382 wickets in 99 firstclass games leaving East Zone skipper Ishan Kishan convinced about the pacerrsquos ldquohunger and motivationrdquo to make an India comeback Shami played a big role in East Zonersquos march to the Duleep Trophy final after 14 years taking five wickets against Central Zone in the semifinal at BengaluruEast Zone skipper Ishan KishanldquoHe is just one of the best He has been a legend of this game He has been doing so well since he started playing for Bengal He has been picking wickets giving all his energy and he has done so well for the Indian cricket team alsordquo Kishan told reporters in the prematch press conferencelsquoAge is just a numberrsquoldquoItrsquos hard to say when it comes to age I feel age is just a number If he is working hard it doesnrsquot matter I see that hunger in Shami bhai because who better than me to judge about hunger right now hinting at Kishanrsquos time away from Indian cricket team for various reasonsHe has been doing so well especially having him in our teamhellipit gives us a bit of more confidencerdquo Ishan Kishan addedAlways hunting for wicketsSouth Zone skipper Tilak VarmaAt 36 Shami is closer to the end of his career but Kishan said it has not prevented the Bengal man from asking for a few extra overs ldquoLooking at his efforts as a captain I felt very nice because Shami bhai came in asking me for those extra overs to get the wickets this is something which always gives confidence to skippers He also finished with two boundaries so he is an allrounder I feel nowadays So I am very happy to have him in my teamrdquo he addedSo what sets apart ShamildquoLooking at Shami bhai this season I feel he has been very different how I have seen him in past but his approach towards the game his intensity his energy has been very differentrdquo Kishan saidldquoIt is hard when you are not regularly playing for the Indian team and to again have that same kind of motivation for your domestic games is tough He has that hunger and that motivation right now He wants to be part of the Indian squad again and you can see it in himrdquo he addedSouth Zone skipper Tilak Varma too showered praise on Shami but said his side is ready to take on the wily pacer ldquoIt will be a good competition for us playing against Shami bhai We have seen in the last game how he set up the batters and took that wicket But we know that we are pretty confident for that challengerdquo said Tilak14No of years since East Zone reached the Duleep Trophy final East beat Central by firstinnings lead in 20125No of wickets claimed by Mohammed Shami in the Duleep Trophy semifinal against Central Zone 382No of wickets claimed by Mohammed Shami in 99 firstclass games462No of wickets claimed by Mohammed Shami in 197 matches for India across formats100The Duleep Trophy final against South Zone will be Mohammed Shamirsquos 100th firstclass gameThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever