Champions Trophy 2025: 'He is a Legend' - Shubman Gill Hails Mohammed Shami After Pacer's Five-Wicket Haul in IND vs BAN

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Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill labelled Mohammed Shami as the legend after the pacer's exceptional bowling performance against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy 2025 opener.

Shami claimed a five-wicket haul, finishing with figures of 5/53, including two early wickets that dismantled the Bangladesh top-order and left them reeling at 35/5. The 34-year-old returned to international cricket action only at the start of this year.

Gill, who scored a match-winning century himself, was full of praise for Shami, saying the veteran pacer always delivers in ICC tournaments before talking about his injury comeback.

"Ye ICC tournament me Panje se kam baat hi nahi karte (Whenever Shami comes to bowl in ICC tournaments, he takes five-wicket hauls most of the time). The way Shami bowled was great and he put pressure on Bangladesh batters. The way he has come back after his injury, it's not easy. He is a legend," Shubman Gill said in a video posted by BCCI.

With the latest spell, Shami has five five-wicket hauls in ICC ODI events, two more than Australian stars Glenn McGrath, Mitchell Starc and Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman. Four of these fifers have come in the World Cup.

Shami also accomplished 200 ODI wickets in this match, becoming the fastest Indian to do so and third-fastest overall. In terms of balls taken, he is the fastest to the milestone, with his double century of wickets coming in 5,126 balls.

The senior Indian pacer, who needed to step up in the absence of another premier fast bowler in Jasprit Bumrah, also surpassed legendary Zaheer Khan to become India's highest wicket-taker in ICC ODI events.

Gill later spoke about his maiden century in the ICC tournaments - an unbeaten 101 runs off 129 balls, which included nine fours and two sixes. The 25-year-old was awarded 'Player of the Match' award for this brilliant innings.

"This is my first century in ICC tournaments. In the World Cup, I missed the opportunity on two to three occasions. This is very satisfying for me. I was backing myself to finish the game for my team," Gill added.

Coming back to the match against Bangladesh, a brilliant century by Gill and a five-wicket haul by Mohammed Shami were the highlights as India defeated Bangladesh by six wickets in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign opener in Dubai.

The Rohit Sharma-led side will next face arch-rivals Pakistan in the ongoing marquee event at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, February 23 before they take on New Zealand in the final group stage match on March 2.