Senior paceman Mohammed Shami takes a dig at national selectors

The spotlight was on seasoned Indian paceman Mohammed Shami at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday as he joined the practice session for Bengal ahead of their Ranji Trophy opener against Uttarakhand from Wednesday. The 35-year-old, who has been snubbed for the upcoming white ball series in Australia, said that there were no fitness concerns for him but the ball was on the selectors’ court on the issue.      

 The last time Shami put on a India shirt was at the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai in February-March, a tournament which the Men in Blue won while he became the joint highest wicket-taker with Varun Chakravarthy at nine wickets apiece. The highest wicket taker in ICC World Cup in 2023, he had also played in two T20Is but had been ignored since then.  

“I have said this before… Selection is not in my hands. If there is a fitness issue, I shouldn’t be here playing for Bengal,” Shami told the media. “I think I do not need to speak on this and create a controversy. If I can play four-dayers (Ranji Trophy), I can also play 50-overs cricket,” he said when asked about the omission for the Australia tour.

“About giving an update, it’s not my responsibility to give an update or ask for an update. It’s not my job to give updates on my fitness. My job is to go to the NCA (Centre of Excellence), prepare and play matches. Woh unki baat hai unko kaun update deta hai, kisne nahin diya (That’s their matter who gives them updates or not). It’s not my responsibility,” he said without pulling back any punches , referring to the norms that require the CoE to issue fitness certificates. No prizes for guessing, it was in reference to a comment from chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar after announcing the squad for Australia that he did not have any update on Shami’s fitness.

 A 15-member Indian squad, which also includes the Big Two of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have assembled in Delhi to leave for Down Under – where they will be playing three ODIs and as many T20Is. Kohli, who now stays in London, has landed in India to join the squad while Shubman Gill will be the new captain.

The owner of 229 Test wickets and 206 ODI wickets hasn’t played a Test since the 2023 World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s. While his absence was deemed as one of the reasons why India struggled in their 2024-25 tour of Australia, Shami himself has struggled to hold on to a spot in the Indian team across formats since coming back from the lengthy injury break.