Mohammed Shami slams Pakistan Muslims for alleging he did not do 'Sajdah' as he was afraid in India

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Mohammed Shami has slammed Paistan Muslims for alleging that he did not do 'Sajdah' after picking a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in the World Cup 2023 as he was afraid to do it in India.

In the match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Shami registered figures of 5/18 in five overs to become the all-time leading wicket-taker for India at the World Cup. The five-fer took his tally to 45, one more than Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath's tally off 44 wickets each at the World Cups.

A visibly emotional Mohammed Shami had gone down on his knees as his teammates surrounded him in the extremely humid conditions of Mumbai. The pictures and videos of the same were widely shared by Pakistan supporters who opined that Shami thought of doing a 'Sajdah' before changing his mind.

Shami, the leading wicket-taker of the World Cup 2023, has now blasted the Muslims of Pakistan for making the absurd claim. He said he has never ever prayed despite taking 11 fifers across formats for India.

"There was one match where you took five wickets and then kneeled on the ground. Then from Pakistan, on social media, there came posts that said 'Mohammed Shami is an Indian Muslim. He wants to do Sajda (prayer), but he was afraid to do it in India'" an anchor asked Shami on Aaj Tak.

"If I wanted to pray, who could stop me? I won't stop anyone from praying. If I want to pray, I will pray. What's the problem in this? I will say it with pride that I am a Muslim. I will say it with pride that I am an Indian. What's the problem in that?

If I have to ask permission to pray from someone, then why should I be in this country? Have I ever prayed after taking a 5-wicket haul before? I have taken many five-wicket hauls. You tell me where you have to pray, and I will go and pray there," Shami responded.

Shami did not play in the first four matches for India but ended up becoming the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. He picked a total of 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.70. He registered three five-wicket hauls in the ICC marquee event.