Australia vs India: Is Mohammed Shami being ignored by the selectors?

On October 19, India will be playing their first ODI since their victorious 2025 Champions Trophy campaign. During this lengthy gap, they have featured in Tests and T20Is but not in the 50-over format. The white-ball tour of Australia now has huge significance as it marks the start of Shubman Gill's captaincy era.

 

While the whole talk was around the futures of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja's exclusion is what came was a surprise. Another notable absentee in the ODI squad was Mohammed Shami. The injury-prone pacer wasn't picked for the England tour due to fitness concerns and the same reason saw him being excluded for the West Indies series as well.

 

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar was vague in his explanation while giving the reason behind Shami's snub from the West Indies series.

 

"I have no update. He has played in the Duleep Trophy. But in the last two-three years, he hasn't played a lot of cricket," said Agarkar at the time.

 

"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."

 

 

However, on Tuesday (October 14), Shami contradicted Agarkar's statements while interacting with the media. The Bengal pacer claimed to be fully fit and available for selection. Shami has been an active part of domestic cricket in recent months, steadily working his way back to professional cricket.

 

"I was part of Champions Trophy and IPL this year, then I also played Duleep Trophy. So, I have played cricket. It's not like I have been out of touch," said Shami.

 

"Practice has been ongoing for a while now but I can prove myself only if I get matches."

 

Agarkar's 'no update' comment was one of the major highlights of his press conference after the squad announcement for the West Indies series. On being asked about that statement, Shami responded with a visible air of annoyance.

 

"To get an update, you need to ask for it. Not my responsibility to give updates to one and all."

 

Shami's statements clearly indicate a massive miscommunication between himself and India's national selectors. Or perhaps, Agarkar and his colleagues are keen to look beyond Shami, at least in ODIs, as the pacer just turned 35 last month. With the next World Cup only in 2027, the plan could be to look at the younger pacers.

 

However, a fit and firing Shami could still add value to India's Test squad, particularly with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj being tremendously overworked over the last 12 months. Adding the Bengal man to the roster could help the selectors and team management to rotate between the three quality fast bowlers.

 

Currently, Shami's statements, though, point at a murky state of affairs regarding the whole scenario. Considering his outburst at the media, Agarkar might be peppered with this topic more in future selection press meets.

 

 

 

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