"It Was For...": Mohammed Shami Explains Heartwarming Reason Behind 'Flying Kiss' Celebration vs Bangladesh
India pacer Mohammed Shami celebrated his five-wicket haul vs Bangladesh with a flying kiss.
Mohammed Shami returned to his best with the ball in India's Champions Trophy 2025 opener against Bangladesh. Shami picked up a superb five-wicket haul, taking two scalps in his opening spell and then three in his final spell. In the process, Shami also became the quickest bowler to reach 200 ODI scalps, in terms of balls bowled. Shami celebrated the wicket of Bangladesh tailender Taskin Ahmed with a flying kiss, and explained the reason behind his celebration at the post-match press conference.
"That flying kiss was for my father... he is my role model," Shami said.
Shami's father, Tousif Ali, passed away in 2017, and the 34-year-old pacer made sure that he paid tribute to him on the day he reached the milestone of 200 ODI wickets.
Mohammed Shami is leading India's bowling attack following the injury to Jasprit Bumrah that saw the latter be ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025.
The 34-year-old has shown signs of rustiness, but made an instant mark against Bangladesh, dismissing opener Soumya Sarkar in the very first over of the game.
Shami took the wicket of Mehidy Hasan Miraz a couple of overs later, and also broke the 154-run stand between Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali in his final spell.
Shami then took the wickets of Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed, and promptly celebrated after dismissing the latter.
The pacer also became by far the quickest Indian bowler to reach 200 ODI wickets, and now boasts an astonishing bowling strike rate of 25.4 in the format, the fifth-best of all-time and the best among bowlers with 200 or more wickets.
Shami was ably supported by young pacer Harshit Rana, with the latter chipping in with three wickets of his own. In between, spinner Axar Patel took two wickets in two balls, and should've had a hattrick had Rohit Sharma not put down a sitter in the slip cordon.
India faced no major difficulty in chasing down the target of 229. Shubman Gill struck a patient but masterful century, staying unbeaten till the end to take India home. Rohit Sharma (41 off 36) gave a fiery start, while KL Rahul (41 off 47) ensured India had little reason to worry at the end.
India enter the Champions Trophy 2025 as one of the favourites, and will next take on Pakistan on February 23. Bangladesh, on the other hand, take on New Zealand.
India Cricket Team
Mohammad Shami