Australia National Cricket Team all-rounder Cooper Connolly talked about the challenge of facing Mohammed Shami in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He said that playing in the semi-final was an unbelievable experience and he will take a lot of learnings from it.

Australia all-rounder Cooper Connolly had an unexpected outing during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The left-hander, who was in the reserves for the tournament, made a late entry into the squad as he was added to the team as a replacement for Matthew Short.

Cooper Connolly was added directly into the playing XI for the high-pressure semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Cooper Connolly was added directly into the playing XI for the high-pressure semi-final. But he looked nervous with the bat, as India pacer Mohammed Shami was all over him with the ball. The fast bowler beat him on both the edges and ultimately ended up taking his wicket.

Cooper Connolly couldn’t make a big contribution with the bat, but he made sure that he made an instant impact with the ball. The all-rounder went on to remove Rohit Sharma early on in the innings as he trapped him in lbw and provided his team with the crucial breakthrough.

Shami is a world-class player for a reason, he’s played a lot of cricket – Cooper Connolly on his battle with India pacer

Connolly talked about his experience of playing in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, saying that he will take a lot of learnings from it. He hailed Mohammed Shami, adding that it was a great game of cricket. Speaking to the media, he said:

“As a kid, you always want to represent your country and to walk out there in a semi-final was an unbelievable experience and I’ll take a lot of learnings from it,”

“Shami is a world-class player for a reason. He’s played a lot of cricket. In the end, it was a great game of cricket and I think we took a lot of learnings as a group from that.

Drop off Rohit was completely out of my mind by the time I was bowling – Cooper Connolly

Connolly talked about the catch that he dropped of Rohit Sharma, adding that it was completely out of his mind when he was bowling. While talking about his experience, he explained:

“It’s the game of cricket. You’re going to miss out, you’re going to drop a catch – you’ve got to get on with what’s in front of you. That (drop off Rohit) was completely out of my mind by the time I was bowling. I was just trying to compete as much as I could and hopefully get a breakthrough for the team,”

“Getting my Baggy Green and then to play a game in the Champions Trophy, it was a dream come true … hopefully there’s plenty more to come.”

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