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Mohammed Shami has no idea why he’s called ‘Lala’ but thinks there is only one man behind it — Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli (L) and Mohammed Shami are long-term teammates. (AFP Photo)
Mohammed Shami doesn’t know who started his nickname Lala, but suspects it’s Virat Kohli’s doing. The pacer has been a mainstay of the team for years, and he and Kohli are said to be close friends.
Shami said now everyone, even newcomers in the team, calls him Lala, but he doesn’t even know why a name associated with former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi, or jewelers in certain parts of India, has become ‘permanent’ for him. Shami even wondered if he’s called that because of his weight.
“I also do not know when it became permanent,” he said in an interview with News24. ‘It’s Virat’s doing. He only does such things. I was just thinking, one day, what kind of a name is Lala? Even Shahid Afridi had that name. But I did not understand why I had this name. Am I fat? There are people who do jewelry work who are called lala, but I don’t do that as well. I am not fat either. But when you come to the team, you get some names. If you try to argue about it, they irritate you more in the team. So I let it be,” he added.
Indian cricketers’ nicknames are quite popular among the audience, too. For example, when Kohli was a youngster, he was popularly called Cheeku in the dressing room, while Sourav Ganguly is known as Dada.
Mohammed Shami gives injury update
Shami has been out of the Indian team for a few months now due to various injuries. He made a comeback in the T20I series against England but didn’t look at his best and was snubbed for the Test tour of England.
Further in the interview, he confirmed that he has worked hard on his fitness and feels much better now.
“Touchwood it is better now. The last two months I have trained, increased my skills, shed weight and increased the load as well. Let’s see the result that I get now. My focus in on getting rhythm and to be able to bowl long spells. I have practiced on batting and fielding as well and done a lot of gym. Everything is comfortable now,” he said.
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