A staggering 12th five-wicket haul in his 30 games. And a realistic opportunity to add another before the end of the game has definitely set Shams Mulani – the highest and the second-highest wicket-taker in the previous two editions of the Ranji Trophy – on course to make the right noise in realising his dream of earning a Test call-up.
Add to that the fact he has notched up 12 fifties so far – most of it being bail-out efforts at Nos. 6 or 7 – and the Mumbai allrounder hopes that his dream will be realised soon.
“That’s always been the dream, but for me, it’s not thinking about that too much. Just keep performing for my team and helping them as I can,” a modest Mulani, a southpaw from Chembur, said after a sterling show against Andhra in the Ranji Trophy on Sunday.
“Improving as a bowler each day is what is in my mind right now. I don’t think about selection. It’s a process that’s not in my hand. So I just focus on my bowling and my game.”
One has witnessed the drastic improvement in Mulani’s performances over the last three seasons – pre- and post-pandemic break. Not only has he improved on his skillset with his left-arm spin but he has also matured as a cricketer.
When a left-arm spinner draws a specialist batter forward and fools him with the draft, and castles him, it’s a sign that his craft is on the upward curve. And the manner in which Vihari did it in plenty was heartening to see. That too on a pitch that didn’t have much in it for the bowlers. On a track that saw only 13 wickets falling on the first two days’ play combined, Mulani alone picked seven on the third day.
“We knew that it was going to be tough. Wickets weren’t going to be easy for us, we have to work hard and on such tracks where only one odd ball is gripping and other ones are just hitting the stumps, I kept trying to hit the pad,” Mulani, 26, said. “That was my plan, that’s how I will take wickets over here. I try to vary as much as I can, and it’s a strength of mine, and it went well for me.”
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Besides improving his skills, Mulani – still waiting for a maiden IPL cap despite having been a part of the Mumbai Indians set-up for a couple of years – has also reduced his waist size, a must for a modern-day cricketer.
“The amount of bowling I have done in the past two years and before that shows that I am fit enough to give those hard yards and keep on bowling for days. Just that I am trying to work on it more so that if I go on certain levels, then it shouldn’t be a point wherein ‘oh, that’s missing’ (is pointed out),” he said, adding that during the off-season he has focused more on his “recovery process and sleep patterns” to achieve his aim.
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