When will we truly give him credit score?

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned when Mohammad Shami would be given credit for his performances in IPL 2026. He pointed out that the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seamer might have already bowled one of the best spells in the ongoing edition of the prestigious league against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Shami registered figures of 2/9 in four overs in the 10th game of IPL 2026 in Hyderabad on Sunday, April 5. His spell helped LSG restrict SRH to 156/9, with the visitors eventually winning the game by five wickets.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter wondered whether Shami has been given due credit for his IPL 2026 performances.

“Are we giving Mohammad Shami enough credit, and when will we actually give him credit? It’s a big question. Why are we not celebrating him? I am the same person who was saying that the selectors have to choose, and if they are not selecting, they might have seen him, his fitness, and whatever,” he said.

Chopra highlighted that the veteran seamer bowled a penetrative and economical spell in a day game against SRH.

“I had also said that everyone has to stand up and take notice if he does it in the IPL. Then you cannot say that the opposing team’s standard wasn’t that good. This is the most competitive league in the world. In such a scenario, he bowled four overs for just nine runs and two wickets, including 18 dot balls, in an afternoon game against the SunRisers Hyderabad,” he observed.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Shami dismissed Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma even though it wasn’t a seamer-friendly pitch.

“He dismissed Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. You have got to celebrate because these are once-in-an-IPL analysis. Where will you get such analysis again? I know Jacob Duffy bowled very well in the first match, but this was an afternoon game. There is no help at all for fast bowlers in an afternoon game, and there was no help for him as well,” Chopra elaborated.

Mohammad Shami had Abhishek Sharma (0 off 2) brilliantly caught by M Siddharth in Lucknow Super Giants’ IPL 2026 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad. He then had Travis Head (7 off 8) caught by Aiden Markram to reduce SRH to 8/2 after 2.1 overs.

“The plan was absolutely perfect” – Aakash Chopra on Mohammad Shami’s tactics in LSG vs SRH IPL 2026 clash

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Mohammad Shami for dismissing Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma with precise planning.

“The plan was absolutely perfect, that he would bowl full, bring the ball in, and very close to the legs, almost yorkers. He said he wouldn’t give them room. Then he bowled slower ones far from both of them. So the plan was very clear,” he said.

The analyst added that the veteran seamer has put in the hard yards to improve his slower ones.

“He has worked on his slower one as well. It’s evident that he has worked on his slower one because he neither has a back-of-the-hand slower one nor a knuckleball. He just bowls one kind of slower one, where he rolls the fingers over the ball, but he has come after working on it. It’s an upgraded version,” Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra acknowledged that Mohammad Shami might not be bowling at over 140 kph, but added that his speed in the mid-130s was effective enough. He opined that a similar spell bowled by the likes of Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah, Jacob Duffy or Josh Hazlewood would have been celebrated more.