Shami takes career’s maiden 8-wkt haul in Ranji Trophy semifinal, sends another reminder to selectors

India's 35-year-old workhorse Mohammed Shami refuses to give up. Dropped from the list of centrally contracted players, ignored by selectors across formats for nearly a year, Shami still has the hunger to prove. With red ball in hand, he delivered his best in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 semifinal clash against Jammu & Kashmir. While other bowlers struggled for wickets, Shami took eight wickets in the innings for the first time in his professional cricket career.

Shami's eight-fer helped Bengal bowl out Jammu & Kashmir for 302 in 76.1 overs. He bowled 22.1 overs including three maidens, conceded 90 runs and claimed eight wickets. His previous best bowling figures in first-class cricket earlier was seven wickets for 79 runs. He helped Bengal take a 26-run lead. Apart from Shami, Bengal’s Mukesh Kumar claimed a couple of wickets.

Shami has continued to knock on selectors’ doors while they have showed injury concerns about the 35-year-old. Since then, he has been playing domestic cricket across formats. The selectors haven’t called him up even when other pacers have suffered injuries. 

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Shami in leaderboard

Currently, Shami is sixth on the list of leading wicket-takers in Ranji Trophy. From seven games, he has claimed 36 wickets at an average of 16.52, including three fifers.

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India’s next Test series in current WTC cycle

India's next Test assignment is several months away. After losing to South Africa at home, India will tour Sri Lanka for a two-Test series followed by a two-Test series on New Zealand soil. Then, India will host Australia for a home Test series in January-February 2027.

Shami’s chance to dazzle with white-ball 

Before the Test series, Shami will be back in white-ball action when he dons the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) jersey in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. LSG roped him in before the auction, trading the pacer from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 10 crore. He will lead the LSG pace attack which also features Anrich Nortje.