In reference to Mohammed Shami’s frugal spell for the Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2026 encounter against Delhi Capitals, former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara stated on Thursday that this is just the beginning of the seasoned seamer’s road to redemption.
During the pre-auction window, LSG traded Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 10 crore to get the out-of-favor India pacer. In the IPL 2026 match on Wednesday, Shami made his LSG debut by removing KL Rahul, making history as the first bowler in IPL history to take five first-ball wickets.
“This season of the IPL is very important for Mohammed Shami and the way he started off the tournament with this performance against DC shows he means business. Yes, his figures read 1 for 28, but it was Shami who played a crucial role in helping his side get off to a strong start in the Powerplay. He first got rid of KL Rahul on the very first ball of the run chase and full credit to Shami,” PTI quoted Pujara telling Star Sports about Shami’s effort against DC.
After a 67-wicket domestic season, Shami’s opening spell demonstrated his form despite the six-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals.
“He knew that Rahul loves to play the inside out shot, so he bowled a wide delivery. Rahul played the inside out shot but it went straight into the hands of the deep point fielder. Then, he restricted the run flow by bowling tight lines and did not allow the batters to score runs,” added Pujara.
“Shami has been playing domestic cricket across all formats in the last one year and the performances have been good. He is translating his domestic form into the IPL. This performance against Delhi is just the beginning of Mohammed Shami’s road to redemption.”
Additionally, Pujara commended DC for selecting Sameer Rizvi as the Impact Player. Rizvi’s undefeated half-century helped the Capitals win.
“Bringing Sameer Rizvi as the impact substitute ahead of Ashutosh Sharma was a good move given the demands of the situation. The team management backed Rizvi and it paid off. He held one end while Stubbs secured the other and their partnership was crucial. Batting wasn’t easy as LSG bowlers got plenty of help under lights, which is why they picked four early wickets. They bowled well under pressure, but the Stubbs-Rizvi pair took the game away. Whether he starts in the Playing XI or comes in as impact player remains to be seen, but I’d pick him over Ashutosh Sharma and Karun Nair,” Pujara said.
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav also contributed significantly to restricting LSG to 141 with figures of 2/31 in four overs.
Pujara discussed how Kuldeep’s bowling has changed as a result of his growing confidence, saying, “Confidence plays a very important role in a bowler’s performance. The way Kuldeep Yadav has bowled in the last two years is because of his confidence. He is bowling without any fear. There was a time when he didn’t have much faith in his bowling, but those days are gone. When a bowler’s confidence increases, he starts picking up wickets and the hunger to do well increases. Kuldeep’s confidence has improved a lot since joining DC. With confidence, his skill execution has seen an improvement too and that was quite evident in the encounter against LSG.”
