Mohammed Shami bags first fifer in first-class cricket in 4 years, bangs on chief selector Ajit Agarkar's door ahead of South Africa series

India’s veteran pacer Mohammed Shami has made a case for his Test comeback with a five-wicket haul against Gujarat at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26. Shami registered his first first-class cricket fifer in four years to send a message to Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee. His fifer helped Bengal beat Gujarat by 141 runs despite young Urvil Patel's unbeaten 109.

On Day 4 of the clash, Shami started the innings with the wicket of opener Abhishek Desai. He got the wicket of Jaymeet Patel, Vishal Jayswal, Siddarth Desai and Arzan Nagwaswalla to bowl out Gujarat for 185. He bowled 10 overs including one maiden, conceded 38 runs and bagged five wickets.

Urvil’s unbeaten ton in vain

Urvil remained stranded on one end. he scored 109 runs from 124 balls, including 16 fours. The next highest was Jaymeet with 45-run knock off 105 deliveries.

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Shami finds form

Earlier, Shami got three wickets in the first innings including two scalps with the new ball. In the previous game against Uttarakhand, he claimed seven wickets. From two games in the ongoing Ranji season, he has taken 15 wickets already at an average of 10.47.

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Shami in contention for South Africa Test squad

Shami getting into groove will make selectors think whether he should be the third pacer in the side for the two-Test series against South Africa. While South Africa have already announced their squad, India are yet to name their 15-member squad.

What Agarkar said about Shami getting snubbed for Australia tour

“Our domestic season has just started so we will see if he is fit enough and we will see where it goes. This is the first round of Ranji games that is going on. We will find out in a couple of more games. If he is bowling well, why would you not want to have someone like a Shami, Agarkar said at at an event.

“But what we have found in the last six-eight months to a year, even during the Australia tour, we were desperate to have him on, but unfortunately his fitness wasn't there. If he does stay fit over the next few months, the story might be different. But at this point, as far as I know, he wasn't fit enough for that England tour.”

Shami’s previous Test appearance

Shami’s last Test appearance was in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia. Injuries have kept him away from the Test squad. Earlier this year, he was picked in the squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.