In recent years, the ability to bounce back from a crushing loss has been India's in-trend thing. Take up 36 all out in Adelaide, the first Test loss to England in Chennai or innings defeat at Leeds, India have shown a penchant for bouncing back strongly. Come Sunday, that bounce-back ability will be put to a stern test when the 2007 champions face New Zealand in a crucial Group 2 match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Dubai.
Currently placed fifth in a group of six teams, India now need to win the rest of their matches starting from the one against New Zealand, which is a virtual quarterfinal match.
Ahead of the crucial match, Team India pacer Mohammed Shami took to the Koo app to post a pic from a training session, where he can be seen having chat with fellow pacer Jasprit Bumrah.
Shami captioned the pic with few hashtags which read, “#BounceBackBoys #IndiaJeetega #ShorMachaoCupLao #SabseBadaStadium #IndVsNZ #T20WorldCUp”.
Notably, the 31-year-old Shami became the main target of the trolls after the bitter 10-wicket defeat against Pakistan in their opening match of the tournament in Dubai.
Hundreds of messages were left on Shami's Instagram account saying he was a "traitor" and should be thrown out of the Indian team.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media in a pre-match press conference, Team India skipper Kohli on Saturday hit out at the people who abused Shami and mocked the pacer for his religion.
We exactly know how to approach the matches ahead.#TeamIndia captain @imVkohli on how the side will go about their upcoming #T20WorldCup games. #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/lChCoNorCQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 30, 2021
In a strong statement, Kohli said, "To me attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing a human being can do. Everyone has the right to voice their opinion but I personally have never even thought of discriminating someone over their religion."
"They have no understanding of the fact that Mohammed Shami has won India a number of matches...If people can overlook that and his passion for the country, I honestly don't want to waste even 1 min of my life on them. We stand by him 200%. Our brotherhood cannot be shaken," added Kohli.
