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Former India great Sunil Gavaskar has seen legendry all-rounder Kapil Dev from close quarters during their celebrated careers. The Little Master certainly knows a thing or two about how Kapil kept himself match-fit.
After watching Shami’s sizzling performances in the ongoing World Cup, the batting great said he felt the India pacer focuses on bowling more in the nets, much like his former teammate Kapil.
As per Gavaskar, the training pitches back home in Shami’s village is helping him find rhythm despite having been in and out of the side in ODI cricket. The legendry batsman feels that Shami is a bit old-school when it comes to giving importance to bowling heavily in the nets and said Kapil Dev used to be particular about fast bowlers doing that extra big in the nets and having the mileage to go full title on match days.
“There is a lot of hard work there. When Shami goes back home, he has got several pitches made apparently, and he just bowls and bowls over there. That is what is important. He is looking at his personal cricketing fitness. What is his specialty? It’s fast bowling. By bowling a number of overs in the nets where he stays. I don’t know whether he is a gym person. You can be doing gym all day. But at the end of the day... Mohammed Shami is doing exactly what Kapil Dev used to do, just bowl and bowl in the nets,” said Gavaskar.
“Shami is not listening to all your bio-mechanic experts who might say ‘oh no, no bowl only 15-20 deliveries in the nets’. He knows that as a fast bowler, he really needs a lot more mileage in his legs as he runs in to bowl,” he added.
