Mohammed Shami is currently the purple cap holder in this season so far, with eight wickets in four matches.
Mohammed Shami is currently the purple-cap holder in this edition of Indian Premier League. He has taken eight wickets in the tournament so far, having best figures of 3/15 at an impressive economy rate of 7.86.
There have been many brilliant individual performances at Kings XI Punjab so far but the side has lost three of its first four matches in the tournament. However, Shami believes that there is great understanding between the players, the coach and the captain.
"I have played with KL (Rahul) and I have worked with Anil (Kumble) sir for a long time. And I believe that it gets easier for a captain to manage a player if you have that understanding from a long time," Shami said while speaking on Amstrad InsideSport Face 2 Face cricket series.
"And there are many players who have known each other in the squad. You just have to tell them once and they understand what they are trying it. This has helped us perform well as a unit and one person has to come out as a leader and Rahul is the perfect man for it. He is our keeper also which allows him to have a clear view of everyone," he added.
Commenting on the factor of getting back in the rhythm, the right-arm pacer said, "The most difficult thing for a sportsperson it to maintain their weight and fitness levels which becomes very crucial to handle. I am very happy that I have been able to utilise what I got from cricket to keep myself in good shape."
When asked about Virat Kohli's role in promoting Team India's current pace attack, Shami was all praise for the skipper and said, "I think in international cricket, fast bowlers would definitely perform well when they have the backing from the captain and he is one such personality."
"Virat loves to take on a challenge. He is clear with what he wants and he gives us the freedom to play to our strength and backs us with our decisions as well which has helped us perform better."
He further went onto speak about the current pace attack of the national side and said: "The biggest factor is the culture of motivation and fitness in the team. We have a unit of six-seven fast bowlers who have been playing since the last five years and no matter whom you choose they will give their 100 per cent."
"If we keep on building this culture it is going to hugely benefit the junior levels. This is the basic reason that the reserve fast bowlers, U-19 ones everyone is showing great quality," he added.
