London [UK], June 1 : Australia legend Ricky Ponting suggested that Mohammed Shami has to "step up" and take his game to another level for India to win the final in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at Oval in London from June 7 to June 12.
India are set to call on their pacers more at The Oval than in the recent Test series against Australia on home soil when Mohammed Shami sent down 69.1 overs to be the busiest quick.
With ongoing injury concerns for Jasprit Bumrah diminishing India's pace threat, Ponting believes Shami will have to be at his best if they are to match Australia's acclaimed attack.
"I think he has to step up or try and take his game to another level if India are going to win this game," Ponting said to ICC.
"When you talk to the Australian batters as well, they understand how good Shami is whether it's new ball or old ball, whether it's in Australia or India," the Former Australian cricketer said.
In the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Shami performed outstandingly well, he was awarded 'Purple Cap' for his clobbering bowling. He had taken 28 wickets in the season with an economy of 8.03 and an average of 18.64. His best bowling spell was 4/1.
Shami has played just three test matches in 2023 where he picked nine scalps with an average of 28.22. He had the best bowling figure of 4/60.
"They know the skillset he's got and how dangerous he can be. It's going to have to be him," Ponting concluded.
India's squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav.
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