Indiaâs pace attack will target Jonny Bairstowâs broken finger if he is able to defy injury and take part in the fourth Test.
Mohammed Shami confirmed the touristsâ collective intention to hone in on Bairstowâs potential âweak zoneâ in Southampton.
Shortly before Bairstow began testing his left middle finger at England practice, with a view to proving he might even yet be able to keep wicket instead of Jos Buttler, Shami left him in no doubt about what to expect if and when he bats.
Asked if he would be tempted to target Bairstowâs injury, the India seamer said: âObviously. When you see that a batsman has a weakness and he feels uncomfortable in some way, youâd prefer to work on that aspect.
âItâs not just me â any fast bowler will want to target his weak zone â so we will definitely look at that.â
Shami believes Indiaâs pace attack, which outshone Englandâs at Trent Bridge last week â as the tourists reduced their series arrears to 2-1 with two to play â is currently the envy of world cricket.
âIf you compare one on one (with England or any other opponent), we have better bowlers,â he said.
âWhen we hear this, it feels very good and takes our confidence sky high. Indiaâs best pace attack is in front of you, performing and helping the team win.â
It is a bold statement perhaps, given England house James Anderson â seven wickets away from becoming the most successful pace bowler in global history â with new-ball partner Stuart Broad second in the national all-time list.
Shami added: âWeâve been able to learn a great deal from Anderson. We saw him on the last tour hereâŠso far, what Iâve learnt from Anderson is this: the stricter and the more accurate you are, the better it is.â
TOUGH TIMES
Shami is as yet the least effective of the touristsâ pace bowlers this summer, with eight wickets at 41.5 each, after setting aside personal issues surrounding the apparent breakdown of his marriage.
âThe last eight months have been tough for meâŠwith the family matter,â he said. âIt doesnât matter what happened or didnât â the period was very stressful for me. I was disturbed about it for some time. (But) at some point, I had to decide that representing the country came first.â
With that in mind, Shami has been a mainstay of an attack still missing the injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar but bolstered by the return to fitness of Jasprit Bumrah.
âThe place where I was feeling disturbedâŠI just got out of there,â he said. Somewhere I felt that if the country needed me, and if I stopped, it would be a loss for my country. Yes, I was struggling with that issue â but being here matters more to me.â