Veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami has been out of the India fray for some time due to injury concerns. He was not selected for the England Tests in July as well as the recent two-match home Test series against West Indies. Furthermore, despite being a part of India Champions Trophy 2025 win earlier this year, he was snubbed for the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia.
However, Shami has now taken a veiled dig at Ajit Agarkar and his selection committee after the latter cited lack of updates on the bowler’s fitness for his omission Down Under. Shami said that it was not his onus to convey his fitness status and that if he can play red-ball cricket in Ranji Trophy, there is no reason he can’t feature in the 50-over setup.
Shami was quoted as saying by India Today, “The Indian team didn’t communicate with me regarding fitness. I am not the one who would inform them about my fitness – they have to ask me. If I can play four-day cricket, then why can’t I play a 50-over game? If I wasn’t fit, I’d be at the NCA and not playing here in the Ranji Trophy.”
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During the squad announcement for the Australia series, Ajit Agarkar had said that Shami needs to play more cricket to be in the reckoning for a national comeback.
“He has played in the Duleep trophy. But in the last two-three years, he hasn’t played a lot of cricket. I think he played one game for Bengal and one in the Duleep trophy. As a performer, we know what he can do, but he has to play cricket,” Agarkar had said.
It is evident that the Bengal pacer wants to make his comeback to international cricket and is ready to put in the grind in the domestic route to do so. Shami will be hoping to impress in Bengal’s opening match of the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 where they face Uttarakhand from October 15.
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