Gujarat Titans’ (GT) pacer Mohammed Shami has revealed that he is not intimidated by the prospects of bowling to Englishman and current Orange Cap league Jos Buttler in Qualifier 1 of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Buttler has scored 629 runs from 14 matches at an average of 48.38 and a strike rate of 146.96 with three centuries and as many half-centuries for his team.
Meanwhile, Shami has taken 18 wickets from 14 games. During the pre-match press conference, Shami said that he is focusing on his own plans rather than worrying about the batter’s form, which has not concerned him at all ahead of their crunch tie in the Qualifier 1 set to take place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, May 24.
"As a bowler, you should not be worried about things like who's the highest run-getter. Everyone has a weak point and you can exploit that. You just need to back up your skills and keep faith in yourself. I'm never overawed by the reputation of the batsman I'm bowling to," Shami was quoted as saying.
The veteran Indian bowlers also revealed his game plan to tackle the powerful RR batters, "In T20 cricket, we focus on variations -- slower ones, bouncers. But according to me, it's about bowling in the right areas then it becomes a difficult score. That's always my game plan.
"The white ball does not swing after a few overs. So it's always my game plan to use the new ball as much as possible. You can say it's all about the experience. It's very important to control your line and length. You keep thinking many things when you play the T20 format," he added.
He also reiterated that his team has a strong bowling unit which has done well in the power-play. "It's about doing well in the power-play and then the match falls in place."
The Titans became the first team to qualify for the playoffs after securing 20 points in the league stage of the championship. They topped the table with their 10 wins and just four losses during the league stage and a win over RR, they can qualify for the IPL 2022 final in their first-ever season in the coveted T20 tournament
