All but over for Mohammed Shami?
Perhaps there is no point beating around the bush any longer. Mohammed Shami’s international career appears to be all but over unless the selection committee makes a complete U-turn in the future. According to sources, that is unlikely.
The four-member selection committee, currently under the interim chairmanship of Pragyan Ojha, has so far picked the squads for the T20Is, ODIs and Tests against New Zealand. It has also selected the India A squad for the shadow tour. Separate squads have been picked for the ODIs, with an eye on the two-match Test series. Shami has not found a place in any of those sides.
When, following Ajit Agarkar’s departure as chief selector, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was brought back into the T20I fold, some saw it as a precursor to Shami’s recall to the Indian team. The two cases, however, are mutually exclusive.
Bhuvneshwar has been brought back for the T20Is, but RevSportz understands that an ODI return remains a long shot for the 36-year-old. He could be asked to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, following which his fitness for the longer format would be assessed.
As far as Shami is concerned, he is not in contention for the T20Is. The selectors and the team management, it is learnt, remain unconvinced about his fitness for ODIs and Tests.
The counter-argument is that Shami, who is also 36, has been a regular in domestic cricket. In the first round of the Ranji Trophy, against Delhi, he bowled 35.3 overs across two innings, taking five wickets. His spell against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final, on a placid Chepauk pitch, was a thing of beauty. Over the past 12-odd months, Shami has bowled close to 350 overs in domestic cricket.
“I have said this many times,” Shami told this correspondent last month. “I have stopped thinking about something that is not in my hands. I’m enjoying my cricket. I’m doing the hard work. And I always play for the badge.”
International cricket demands a different level of fitness, and perhaps that is why the decision-makers remain unconvinced. When Agarkar was chief selector, fans used to lay all the blame for Shami’s non-selection at his door. Sources in the know, however, have maintained that it has always been a collective decision rather than the call of an individual.
It is reliably learnt that Agarkar and Rohit Sharma, who was India captain at the time, wanted Shami to tour Australia for the five-Test series in 2024-25. The fast bowler had just returned to competitive cricket after an extended hiatus following heel surgery. He had missed the 2024 IPL. Fitness concerns may eventually have become an issue, as Shami did not travel with the team.
Shami was also considered for the five-Test series in England last year, according to sources. Yet again, fitness concerns probably played a major role in his absence.
“If he is fit, why wouldn’t we have a bowler like Shami?” Agarkar said at an event in Delhi last year. “I have had multiple chats with him. Over the last six to eight months, what we have found out is that he wasn’t fit. He wasn’t fit to be picked for the England tour.”
In August this year, when asked about Shami’s potential return to the Indian team, Agarkar reiterated his assertion that the fast bowler lacked the fitness required for Test cricket.
The bottom line is that one of India’s finest-ever fast bowlers is unlikely to get a fairytale ending to his glorious international career. Before jumping to conclusions and putting someone to the sword, however, it is worth remembering that there are two sides to every story.
P.S. Shami decided to skip Bengal’s Ranji Trophy fixture against Services, which got under way in Delhi today. He was part of the team’s training session on the eve of the match. A day later, he was “rested”.
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