Mohammed Shami was apparently one of those several hundred unassuming youngsters who thronged the Maidan in search of making a living out of cricket or just for the pure pleasure of playing the sport.
But there was something in him that made everyone sit up and take notice.
Pushing 20 and from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, Shami had turned up for a trial at the Bournvita Cricket Academy. Bowling barefoot, he instantly impressed Dalhousie AC coach Srimanta Hazra.
Following a season at Dalhousie, Shami moved to Town Club and sharpened his skills further and then earned a Bengal cap in October 2010 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy before his Ranji Trophy debut. Three years later, at Eden Gardens in a Test against the West Indies, which was also Sachin Tendulkar’s 199th, he finished with a match haul of nine wickets (four in the first and five in the second innings), eventually growing up to be one of the best pacers the country has produced.
Since that Eden Test in late 2013, Shami – who announced his retirement from Tests on Friday – grew in strength to be the leader of India’s pace attack, till the emergence of Jasprit Bumrah. But his early days were all about struggle.
“I came to know about Shami first at the Bournvita Academy when we were practising there. By his very appearance then, one could gauge that he was from an extremely humble background. I felt, ‘Okay, let’s give him a few balls to bowl,'” former Dalhousie coach Hazra recalled.
“He had bowled barefoot there, and was quite impressive. So, I got him signed at Dalhousie. He was then staying in Bongaon at a local guardian’s place.
“He had done quite well in his first appearance, taking three wickets against Kumartuli in a (CAB) first-division league match.”
The next season, Shami moved to Town, and that shaped the beginning of his actual progress. Former CAB joint-secretary Debabrata Das, whose bonding with Shami often gets talked about in the Maidan, brought him to his Garcha Road residence, where Shami even had an opportunity to speak to Paras Mhambrey, who was then the Bengal coach.
“After Shami joined Town, I had spoken to his mom and dad, and brought him to my house on Garcha Road. Paras was the Bengal coach then, and he too used to stay on one of the floors. Shami was quite eager to speak to Paras once.
“So, we finally managed to get him to bowl before Paras at the nets. On seeing his bowling, Paras was quite effusive in his praise,” Das, who was on cloud nine during Shami’s blockbuster Test debut at the Eden, said.
“A section of CAB officials at the time had raised eyebrows and tried to heckle me as well, claiming I was bringing outstation cricketers of ‘no relevance’. But when he found success playing for Town and eventually made it to the Bengal team, one of those influential officials requested me to let him play for his club.
“He had an offer of ₹3 lakh from Mohun Bagan. Initially, he was a bit hesitant about going, but I gave him the assurance and then only he went,” Das added.
Shami had made a few appearances for Bengal’s U-23 team as well. For his induction into the senior team, a six-wicket haul for Town in a first-division game against Eastern Railway had a big impact on then Bengal chief selector Sambaran Banerjee. Laxmi Ratan Shukla was the Bengal captain at that time.
“Before lunch, Shami had taken four wickets. I told Safi Ahmed (then Town captain) to make him bowl against the wind after lunch, and he took two wickets. I could notice his seam position and natural bounce,” Banerjee recalled.