The emergence of Mohammed Shami as a superstar during India’s World Cup campaign has injected new meanings into his persona. It will make him vulnerable to powerful personalities appropriating him for myriad causes. He will be seen to embody ideas he might not have even thought through. He will be cited as an example to clinch drawing-room debates. Shami will no longer be just Shami, the fast bowler with a runup resembling the steed’s gallop, swinging and seaming the ball to dismiss the best in the world.

Eminent Muslims personalities are almost always transformed into emblems of arcane ideas. They become their community’s pride, an argument against those who question their loyalty to India, a rebuttal against the cry of discrimination they encounter, and a symbol of hope for Muslim teenagers to aspire for glory.