Mohammed Shami was all praise for the way Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin has performed his role this season, despite his relative nascency to captaincy. Although he has been captain for only 25 games in franchise cricket, Shami believes Ashwin is doing a stellar job at reading the match situation and deploying the right tactical moves at the right times.

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In an exclusive interview with Cricket Next, the 29-year-old was quoted saying, “As a bowler, Ashwin is great and has been playing for a long time. He knows all the tricks of the game and brings all of that to his captaincy. In T20 cricket, you need the right strategy at the right time, so his bowling experience comes very handy.”

Shami, who is playing his first season in the VIVO Indian Premier League for KXIP, also spoke about his experience with the squad. “This is my first season with Kings XI. We have a great atmosphere in the team and I personally try to give my best in every game that I play and for every team,” he was quoted saying.

The pacer also gave an insight into how he prepares for an IPL game. “In T20 cricket, margin of error is less, and you have to stick to a certain line and length and maintain discipline. I have worked a lot on maintaining consistency.

“I am looking for yorkers at the death. If it’s not a set batsman I am bowling to, I don’t like to do too much of variation. If it’s a new batsman or someone coming in lower down the order, I try out some variations. The need in T20 is accuracy, but bowling yorkers also depend on match situations and conditions,” Shami was quoted saying.