Opening Doorz

By Moody Marty | Opening Doorz Editorial | March 28, 2025

Mohammed Shami’s Hair Mystery: From Full to Patchy Again!

Mohammed Shami is losing his hair. Yet again.

At the ODI World Cup semi-final, after taking 7/57 against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Shami rubbed the white ball on the center of his head—perhaps indicating his head full of healthy hair, where only a few months ago, there was considerable wear and tear and detectable bald patches.

He had done hair weaving. Or was it a hair transplant? Whatever it was, it was looking good. Even the doctors who had performed the necessary jugglery to fill the scanty patch went overboard on social media to talk about Shami’s head full of healthy hair!

Perhaps that was a folly. They should have waited a few years to ensure the hair they shifted from elsewhere stayed in place.

While watching him on television yesterday, playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the center of his head looked like before the hair transplant. Coming in to bowl to Nicholas Pooran from Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, the camera focused on the top of his head; more than thrice. And what was seen was this: once where there was healthy hair, there were now noticeable patches.

He went for 18-plus runs in the third over of the innings. Thankfully, he did not attempt to pull his remaining hair out. Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh were doing pooran polis of the SRH attack.

Now that the patch is noticeable, the doctors who went to town blowing their trumpet should do some damage control and ensure the scanty area is well-clad before the final stages of IPL 2025.

Sanjiv Goenka and the Rollercoaster of IPL Emotions

Speaking of LSG, it was a pleasing sight to see owner Sanjiv Goenka clapping for every Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh boundary. The man was in a good mood.

Rumour, TV news, online information, and social media memes have it that he did a KL Rahul on Rishabh Pant after Delhi Capitals beat them in their opener.

Goenka was observed discussing with Rishabh Pant. While reports indicate that this conversation wasn’t as overtly animated as with KL Rahul, it still sparked discussion and raised concerns among fans.

In the match yesterday, reports stated that he gave Rishabh Pant a hug after a win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. I don’t know. After Pooran was out LBW, I switched off the TV set. A hug should come after every match, not only after a win. No team can win every match.

I was wondering what would have happened if wickets had fallen rapidly yesterday. Would Goenka still have been that happy, clapping man while Pooran and Marsh were depositing balls in the stands?

Cricket, after all, is a funny game. You can win from a losing position and lose from a winning one. The variable of emotions needs to be kept in check. Cricketers are not derby horses, and investing in a player in the IPL is not a real estate matter.

Shreyas Iyer: A Selfless Knock That Put the Team First

Now for Shreyas Iyer. Every cricketer wants a century beside his name in a match. We have seen so many cricketers ensure they score their 100—some even at the cost of refusing to run two runs to ensure they retain the strike (as overs are running out) to complete their century.

They forget cricket is a team game, and the team should be a priority—not their century. What’s the use of scoring a 100 if your team still ends up on the losing side?

Iyer’s maturity as a cricketer was evident for all to see. He was playing for Punjab Kings (PBKS), not for himself. He was stroking the ball with ridiculous ease. Fitness-wise, he looks at his peak.

In the last over, he could have refused a double, taken the strike, and crossed the 100 mark. However, it was he who pushed for two runs. Shashank Singh (44 off 16 balls) clobbered 23 runs off the last over bowled by Gujarat Titans’ Mohammed Siraj.

PBKS won the match by 11 runs, and in the final analysis, it shows that Iyer ensuring Shashank kept the strike was the best decision he made for the team. What if Iyer had lost his wicket and PBKS had lost momentum because he selfishly went in search of his century?

Iyer, for his part, was all smiles for his team’s total, and Shashank’s pyrotechnics.

Methinks this gentleman, after his early brush with a wrong (aggressive) attitude, is ready for the Indian team’s captaincy.

[Moody Marty: Sometimes funny, sometimes informative, always downright forthright!]

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