The Indian Premier League mega auction is near, and the franchises have started brainstorming on recruiting a strong squad for the upcoming season to fight for the mega title. The rules and limitations in the retention process forced several franchises to release their star players, which they might look to sign back in the auction. The RTM card will help them secure their former players, but they have to choose it wisely.

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has advised 2022 champions Gujarat Titans to use their RTM wisely on premier pacer Mohammed Shami, who won the Purple Cap with them in the 2023 edition.

"Yes, 100 percent. I wouldn't want Shami to play anywhere else because I love how he bowls at the Narendra Modi Stadium. I think he bowls exceptionally well there and that's given him a lot of confidence in his white-ball cricket as well," Uthappa said on JioCinema.

Uthappa asserted playing at Narendra Modi Stadium has helped Shami to improve his game which has worked well for the Titans and Team India both in the recent years.

"I think that only has amplified his red-ball bowling as well. So from the perspective of how he plays for himself and for his franchise, and also for Indian cricket, from all those different perspectives, I prefer him to play here at the Gujarat Titans," Uthappa added.

Mohammed Shami's sensational return to competitive cricket

Shami missed the last season of IPL due to injury, however, after his surgery, he made a sensational comeback in the Ranji Trophy recently. He claimed seven wickets on his comeback game against Madhya Pradesh to help Bengal claim a register win.

However, he recently missed out on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad due to a lack of match fitness. However, after bowling 19 and 24.2 overs across two innings in the Ranji Trophy, Shami gave a final audition to make a last-minute entry into the squad.

Meanwhile, if included in the squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Shami's experience would be invaluable, particularly given India's inexperienced pace attack. The bowling line-up features two senior pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, adding to it promising talents such as Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Akash Deep.

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