Mohammed Shami has got to be the unluckiest cricketer around in world cricket at the moment. He is a proven great. If Shikhar Dhawan was ‘Mr. ICC’ for India, Shami performed the same role, rather emphatically, with the ball. Shami is 35, and while he may no longer be at his peak age-wise, his red-ball form certainly suggests otherwise. Match after match, he is building a compelling case for one final India recall. Currently the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy with 36 scalps, Shami further strengthened his claim with career-best First-Class figures of 8/90 for Bengal against J&K in the semi-final.
This was Shami’s second five-wicket haul in three matches. Bowling with one hand taped, he shook, rattled and rolled his way to the 15th five-for of his First-Class career. He gave Bengal an early breakthrough, trapping openers Shubham Khajuria and Yawer Hassan lbw. After Paras Dogra and Abdul Samad stitched together a 143-run stand, it was Shami who broke the threatening partnership. Forty-nine runs later, he had Abid Mushtaq edging behind before completing his five-wicket haul by dismissing Kanhaiya Wadhawan.
More carnage followed as Shami wasn’t done yet. After tailenders Auqib Nabi Dar and Yudhvir Singh Charak frustrated Bengal with a dogged 50-plus stand, Shami dismissed both of them, along with Vanshaj Sharma, to finish with eight wickets. His previous best figures were 7/79 against Madhya Pradesh in 2012-13, a few months before he made his India debut.
Despite producing one incisive spell after another – not just in the Ranji Trophy but across First-Class cricket – the question persists: what is stopping Ajit Agarkar’s BCCI selection committee from giving Shami one final run with the Indian team? It’s not as if he is unfit or unable to bowl long spells. He has done so consistently in the Ranji Trophy and even struck a blazing fifty in his previous match, with selector RP Singh in attendance. What more does he need to do?
There is a growing belief that Shami may well have played his last match for India. And the reasons are understandable. At 35, he is nearing the twilight of his career, and India’s fast-bowling unit appears to have moved on. Yet the prospect of Shami partnering Jasprit Bumrah with the new ball one last time remains enticing. India’s tour of New Zealand in October-November could tempt the selectors to offer him a farewell series, if nothing more. Relations between Shami and the selection committee have been strained. The veteran pacer has accused the panel of maintaining silence over his future, while Agarkar’s stance suggests otherwise. When October approaches, both sides may have an opportunity to set the record straight.
The October window
Historically, New Zealand conditions haven’t been kind to India. In the last 30 years, India have won just one Test series in the land of the Kiwis – when MS Dhoni led the team to a 1-0 triumph in 2009. India have toured New Zealand only twice since – in 2014 and 2020 – and were beaten comprehensively on both occasions. If last year’s England tour is anything to go by, where India were driven to the extent of handing Anshul Kamboj a debut, picking Shami in New Zealand may not qualify as an unexpected call after all. In the 2013-14 series, Shami claimed 10 wickets from two Tests, with a best of 4/70 in Wellington, to go with 3/37 in Auckland. Six years later, in 2020-21, he bowled 49 overs across two Tests and picked up five wickets, including a best of 4/92. With India embarking on a rare trip to New Zealand, the opportunity is ripe for Shami. The series is only two Tests long, but he could still have a significant impact.
All this, of course, depends on how India fare on the road to the World Test Championship final. If another disaster strikes in Colombo, Shami could be confined to domestic cricket. If not, the New Zealand series becomes even more crucial. With a highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy lined up in January – a minimum of a four-Test series – Shami may well miss out. Hence, New Zealand could be his only chance. He last played for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Will the selectors listen and end his exile?
