'His workload is not...': Ajit Agarkar reveals reason behind snubbing Mohammed Shami for England Tests

The head of selection committee Ajit Agarkar announced Shubman Gill as India's new Test skipper and named Rishabh Pant as his deputy on Saturday ahead of the five-match Test series against England. Following Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's recent Test retirements, it was inevitable that many changes will be made to the team especially in the batting front.

Many changes have been made in India's Test squad

Young batter Sai Sudharsan earned his first-ever Test call-up while both Abhimanyu Easwaran and Karun Nair also got included in the 18-member squad. On the other hand, in the bowling department, Kuldeep Yadav made a comeback into the squad while Arshdeep Singh also earned his maiden Test call-up.

One of the notable players who wasn't picked is veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, who last made an appearance for the Men in Blue in the longest format in 2023. The 34-year-old was not deemed to be fit enough for the major five-match assignment.

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"He's had a little bit of a setback over the past week, got some MRIs done. Wasn't going to be able to play five Tests. Don't think his workload is where he needs to be. Medical guys told he'll be ruled out. We were hoping he'll play some part, but if he's not fit, we'd rather pick guys fit and available rather than waiting," Agarkar said at the press conference.

This comes as a big blow for Shami, who was once a mainstay in India's Test set-up. With the pacer's recent injury woes, it is hard to see if he will ever be able to make a comeback into the Men in Blue's Test team.

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Shami hasn't had a great season in IPL either after getting acquired by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping fee of INR 10 crore at the mega auction last year. He has only been able to pick up six wickets in the nine matches he has played so far in the 2025 edition. He has also proved to be quite expensive in the tournament, giving away runs at an economy rate of 11.23.

India squad for England Tests: Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, K L Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav.