{"id":178049,"date":"2026-06-07T22:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T04:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=178049"},"modified":"2026-06-07T22:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T04:12:16","slug":"ind-vs-afg-more-than-a-footnote-mohammed-saleem-stands-tall-amid-afghanistans-long-grind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=178049","title":{"rendered":"IND vs AFG \u2014 More than a footnote: Mohammed Saleem stands tall amid Afghanistan\u2019s long grind"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

Despite having bowled 22 overs in the furnace of the June sun, Mohammed Saleem had the legs to make a 40-yard dash in celebration after Manav Suthar\u2019s wicket on Sunday. The moment demanded no less.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old had plied tirelessly for over four sessions and his reward was a maiden five-wicket haul against India. The delivery to nab Suthar was bowled at 144kmph; there had been several other deliveries over 140kmph.<\/p>\n

In an innings where Afghanistan bowlers were left scratching their heads and ruing their luck, Saleem did not leave anything to fate. Despite ceding the new-ball spell to Ziaur Rahman Sharifi and Azmatullah Omarzai, Saleem used the slowness of the wicket to trouble batters.<\/p>\n

To do so in only his second Test, more than two years from his last game, was a feat in its own right.<\/p>\n

Saleem\u2019s only Test appearance came more than two years ago. He last played a multi-day game in June 2025 for Pamir Legends in the Ahmad Shah Abdali tournament back home. It took time to dust away that rust.<\/p>\n

His start was wayward, and he even got his victim, Yashasvi Jaiswal, strangled down leg but Saleem set his scopes at the fourth-stump channel and looked the most threatening bowler in the visiting camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I enjoyed about him was his consistency today. He\u2019s not a 145-150 bowler, he\u2019s super consistent. Yesterday we were way off for test-level bowling. It\u2019s just that consistency, with the ball which we\u2019re using, it\u2019s got a proud seam, so it grips the surface. There\u2019s enough in that surface that if you are consistent, the seam will give you enough. Just enough to take the edge. He was just fantastic, and he just held a length, and I think if you hold a length, you\u2019re in the game the whole time,\u201d head coach Richard Pybus said after the second day.<\/p>\n

Gill was Saleem\u2019s first scalp on Sunday, and though the wicket came in the 11th over of the day, the Indian captain had been squared up more than once before his fall. Going for a flick and closing the bat face early, Gill saw the ball tail away after pitching, take the edge and miss the cordon or squirt away through point.<\/p>\n

It was not just seam movement that planted doubt. Dhruv Jurel was left red-faced as he shouldered arms expecting the ball to move away only for it to move in and crash his gate. Then there was the effort ball, above his average 135-138kmph zone that surprised Sai Sudharsan and Suthar and disrupted their rhythm while driving.<\/p>\n

Also read | Under-fire Rishabh Pant rediscovers Test-match rhythm<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Had Afghanistan employed their reviews better, Saleem might have ended with fewer wickets. But by the time India declared its innings on 564 for eight, Saleem was the only one who did not bow down to circumstances.<\/p>\n

His marathon 27-over spell drew praise from Washington Sundar too at the post-match press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a high-quality performance. If you look at the conditions, there wasn\u2019t much on offer for the seamers unless you kept hitting the right areas consistently. For Saleem to do that over long spells shows his skill and character. He kept hitting the seam, extracted whatever little help was there, and maintained that intensity throughout.<\/p>\n

\u201cBowling those long spells in such heat isn\u2019t easy. It speaks volumes about his fitness and mental strength. Performances like these are what you expect in Test cricket, and he was outstanding. Congrats to him. Coming to India and picking up a six-fer as a seamer is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was precisely the sort of performance that inspires a team, especially one that is still establishing a foothold in Test cricket. A bunch of Afghan bowlers have picked five wickets in an innings, but none made ripples like Saleem did.<\/p>\n

Even if India romps to an easy win over the next two days, Saleem\u2019s effort will not go down as a mere footnote.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut just that consistency, if you come here to bowl, you take six wickets in extreme heat against high-quality batting, that plays very well, not just for him as a bowler, but for us as a side,\u201d Pybus said.<\/p>\n

Published on Jun 08, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite having bowled 22 overs in the furnace of the June sun, Mohammed Saleem had the legs to make a 40-yard dash in celebration after Manav Suthar\u2019s wicket on Sunday. The moment demanded no less. The 23-year-old had plied tirelessly for over four sessions and his reward was a maiden five-wicket haul against India. The … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":178050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/10_RVM_3236.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":177978,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=177978","url_meta":{"origin":178049,"position":0},"title":"IND vs AFG Test: Suthar strikes thrice on debut after India piles on the runs","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"June 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"India squeezed Afghanistan into a corner on the second day and laid the foundation for a big win in their one-off Test at the New PCA Stadium on Sunday. 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