Mohammed Shami's performance for SunRisers Hyderabad has left a lot to be desired in the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Very rarely has he completed his full quota of four overs. In the nine matches he has played this season, Shami has taken just six wickets, conceding runs at an economy rate of 11.23. He has leaked runs in the powerplay and the death, and his performance has gone a long way in SunRisers Hyderabad struggling at the bottom half of the points table.

Earlier this season, Shami also conceded 75 runs in his quota of four overs as Punjab Kings hammered him all around the park. Amid these poor returns, former cricketers Aakash Chopra and Danny Morrison tore into Shami, criticising his performance. They also raised question marks over him, considering there is a Test tour of England coming up.

"You've had a big surgery like that, I think psychologically for a start it gets you dow. And then you've got to come back and pace yourself," Danny Morrison said on ESPNcricinfo's Time Out

"I just wonder: he is no 29-year-old anymore, is he? So there are all of those things that are stacked against you," he added.

Shami didn't play in the IPL 2024 edition due to an ankle injury. In IPL 2023, Shami, while playing for Gujarat Titans, won the Purple Cap for his 28 wickets. However, in the ongoing edition of the tournament, the story has been completely different. In SRH's latest fixture against GT, Shami failed to take a single wicket and leaked 48 runs in three overs.

'Still off the boil'

Aakash Chopra didn't mince his words as he pointed out how Shami recovered from his injury last year. He also stated that the senior pacer was part of the Champions Trophy-winning squad, and hence, if he is struggling even now, then it is a big reason to worry.

"That's a big question there, no, because it's not like he came back from an injury last week or last month. He started playing domestic cricket last year and this is May already," Chopra said.

"He's played an ICC event in between. He's played a lot of games. If he's still off the boil, and that has something to do with the injury and we're all assuming that it is, then there is a serious question mark with regards to what happens next," he added.

Shami made his return to competitive cricket in the Ranji Trophy late last year for Bengal. He was made to play Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before he was finally named in India's T20I squad for the series against England. He was then also named in the Champions Trophy team and he even took five wickets against Bangladesh in a group match.

"The other is the tour of England. All of us were harping about the fact that at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah was alone, there was no Shami, and if there was Shami how things would have been different. But will there be Shami in England is the question. And what kind of Shami," said Chopra.

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