Mohammed Shami's 4/71 gave him the most successful debut by an Indian fast bowler after the legendary Mohammed Nissar, who had figures of 5/93 against England at Lord's way back in 1932, the country's very first Test match, says a report in The Deccand Herald, adding that on the day, though, just playing his maiden Test match alongside Sachin Tendulkar, was more than enough pleasure for him and doing so at the Eden Gardens was the icing on the cake.
“My debut was made with Sachin Tendulkar in the team. So I'm delighted. The biggest thing is that it's my home ground and I'm playing with Sachin Tendulkar,“ he said.
The young man from Moradabad dedicated his 4/71 performance to the retiring legend, and his family, but not necessarily in that order.
“The most important thing is that with me playing is Tendulkar, so I'd dedicate this performance to him first. Then I'm thankful to my family for backing me, being from the background we are from, and the place I come from. So all the credit goes to my family.
According to a report in the DNA report, Shami, “The place I’m from, there’s no cricket there, and where I’ve wanted to go to, it’s out of… So most of all I want to dedicate my debut performance to my family.” Shami said getting his first wicket was a big boost. “For me, the most important wicket was my debut wicket. The first wicket is important. While all wickets are equal to me, my debut wicket gave me the most joy.
“My dream was to do well for the team whenever I to play in Tests. So the most important thing for me was that I made my Test debut..Where I come from, there was no (organised) cricket there. There was nothing. But my family backed me, they took me to the stadium, and from there I came to Kolkata… Then I played from Kolkata (for Bengal), and here I am today.”
