Mohammed Shami takes massive dig at Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid at CEAT Awards ceremony, attendees in splits

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Mohammed Shami might be out of action for over nine months now, but was razor sharp with his verbal reactions while receiving the CEAT ODI Bowler of the Year Award, recently. His spontaneous answers left everyone including India Women captain Harmanpreet Kaur in splits.

Host Mayanti Langer Binny called the star pacer on the stage, and recalled how an extremely experienced Mohammed Shami was benched in India's first four games in the ODI World Cup 2023.

Mayanti later asked Shami, who is celebrating his 34th birthday today (Tuesday, September 3), how he kept himself ready despite the uncertainty of being in the playing eleven.

Shami looked at India captain Rohit Sharma while Mayanti framed the question, and once she finished, he said, "Aadat pad gai hai shayad (I am habitual to it now)."

As everyone in the room erupted in laughter, Shami continued and said that he faced similar situations at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. Taking a friendly jibe at Rohit, and former coach Rahul Dravid, who was also attending the prestigious CEAT Awards, Shami added that the management forget the idea of dropping him once they see him perform

"When I have been given an opportunity by the captain and coach, I have performed so well by God's grace that they forget the idea of benching me (laughs). (Jab mujhe mauka diya hai captain, coaches ne, touchwood , allah tallah aisa hi niklega hai ki fir inogo ne socha hi nahi hai ki hum baitha de isko)." said Shami, who finished the World Cup 2023 as the leading wicket-taker. He picked 24 wickets in just seven matches at an average of 10.70.

Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Harmanpreet Kaur and Rahul Dravid were also seen laughing as the camera panned towards them. Shami, who was in the mood, also ended his answer on a hilarious note. The senior pacer said that he can only serve water if he is not given a chance, and asked to warm the bench.

"You can call it hard work, but I'm always ready for a chance. Only when I get a chance, I can prove myself. Otherwise, I can only run to serve water from the bench. It's better to seize the opportunity when you get it (Iske mehnat keh sakte hai, isko kuch bhi keh sakte hai. Hamesha main ready rehta hu. Aap mujhe chance doge tabhi main kuch kar sakta hu, warna bench se toh paani hi pila sakta hu. So, better hai jab chance milta hai lelo mauka apne haath me)," Shami concluded.

Mohammed Shami underwent a surgery for achilles tendon in February, and is currently rehabilitating to make a comeback. He is expected to make a return to action with the three-match Test series against New Zealand in October. BCCI's outgoing secretary Jay Shah has already confirmed that Shami will be picked for the five-Test series against Australia starting November 22.