There are better fast bowlers in Indian T20 cricket than Mohammed Shami, reckons Ricky Ponting

There has been continuous debate regarding what India's squad will look like in the next edition of the T20 World Cup, set to be played in Australia later this year. Many had predicted their roster for the forthcoming Asia Cup will give everyone a little more clarity, and there, they have found that Mohammed Shami, one of India's fiery speedsters, did not find a place. While some have claimed Shami will definitely get a ticket to Australia for the next mega ICC event, some have said that there is no chance after he missed out on the Asia Cup.

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is one of them who believes Shami probably won't be considered in the Indian squad for the next T20 World Cup. However, Ponting did mention if India opt to bring in four specialist pace bowlers, Shami might make the cut. At the same time, Ponting did not forget to highlight how good Shami has been in Test cricket for many years.

"He's (Shami) been a very, very good bowler for India for a long time now. If you look at his strengths, his Test cricket is probably where he thrives the most," Ponting told the ICC.

"I think there are better fast bowlers in Indian T20 cricket than Shami and they've only named three (for the Asia Cup). So if there are potentially four named in the squad he might be the fourth man in. I would think they'll probably only have the four quicks coming to Australia. They'll still want to bring a lot of spins here even though the wickets are probably not that conducive."

Shami last played a limited-overs game for India against England in July. However, he is not picked in India's squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series versus Zimbabwe, and in his absence, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj have been named in the roster instead.