India speedster Mohammed Shami who is all set to make his international cricketing comeback in the upcoming T20I series against England said that his hunger to play for the nation was his motivation during his long break from the cricketing action. Shami was out of international cricketing action for more than a year after sustaining an ankle injury.
Shami's last international outing was in the ODI World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad against Australia on November 19, 2923. He ended that tournament as the highest wicket-taker with 24 scalps in seven outings.
“I feel the hunger to play for the country should never end. If you love your country you will always fight for a comeback. Even if you are injured 10 times. Those who play for the country, or the state, the thought doesn’t even come that I’ll leave cricket or just walk away," Shami said during the felicitation ceremony of Bengal U-15 women players organised by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).
Shami is currently with Suryakumar Yadav-led T20I side in Kolkata where he will feature against England on January 22. England are scheduled to play five T20Is followed by three ODIs against India and Shami is part of both India's squads.
After finishing the white ball series against England, Team India will travel to Dubai for the Champions Trophy 2025 which will start from February 19. Shami has been named in Rohit Sharma-led squad for the Champions Trophy where The Men in Blue will play their opener clash against Bangladesh on February 20. Team India will play all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai and considering experience, India's pace duo of Shami and Jasprit Bumrah will surely dominate in the upcoming mega event.
India T20I squad against England
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Mohd Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harisht Rana, Dhruv Jurel, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakrabarthy and Washington Sundar.
India's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja
India’s squad for ODI series against England
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja