Delhi Daredevils bowling coach James Hopes today hinted that pacer Mohammad Shami's personal problems in recent times may have affected his game.
The 28-year-old fast bowler has had a rough time off the field with his wife Hasin Jahan filing a police complaint against him for domestic violence and accusing him of match-fixing.
He also sustained a head injury after his vehicle collided with a truck when he was on way to Delhi from Dehradun following a short training stint before the IPL.
His participation in the Indian Premier League was cleared after the BCCI offered him a fresh central contract, which it had withheld following his wife's police complaint.
"I think he has got some personal stuff going on. And it's tough to concentrate on the job sometimes. Players try to use cricket as a release. Everywhere you have to sort out your off-field stuffs before you start performing on the field. He is in the process of doing that and it obviously is going to take some time," Hopes said of Shami.
"This season is not yet over for him and we are aware."
"He has got his own ideas on tactics which is great. Worse case we mat lose of couple of more games under a new skipper but I fully expect his batting to go up. He is playing beautifully at the moment."