Veteran India cricketer Mohammed Shami has shared his views on being snubbed from the Men in Blue's squad for their upcoming white-ball tour of Australia. The 35-year-old last played for the national team in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy final in March. Despite the fact that he was India's joint-highest wicket-taker in that tournament with nine scalps in five matches, he wasn't considered for the side's assignments in any format.
Shami has now stated that his selection in the squad isn't in his hands and it is rather up to the selection committee, coach and captain. He further said that he is ready to make his comeback and also doesn't have any issues with his fitness as of current.
"People want to know my opinion on the non-selection for the Australia series. I will just say t hat getting selected is not in my hands; it is the job of the selection committee, coach and captain. If they feel I should be there, they will select me, or if they feel some more time is needed, it is in their hands. I am ready and practicing," Shami said on his YouTube channel.
"My fitness is also good. I will try to do better because when you are away from the ground, you need to remain motivated. I played in the Duleep Trophy. I felt very comfortable, my rhythm was good, and I bowled around 35 overs. There are no issues with my fitness," he added.
Will Shami play Ranji Trophy?
Meanwhile, Shami has been selected in Bengal's squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy campaign and will be leading the side's pace attack alongside Akash Deep. This will be a highly-important tournament for Shami as if he needs to return to the international circuit, he has no choice but to impress the selectors with his performance in domestic cricket. His first task in the competition will come in the form of Uttarakhand and the match between the two teams will begin from October 15.
Bengal's squad for Ranji Trophy: Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Abishek Porel (vice-captain/wk), Sudip Kumar Gharami, Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Chatterjee, Sumanta Gupta, Saurabh Kumar Singh, Vishal Bhati, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ishan Porel, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Rahul Prasad, Sumit Mohanta and Vikash Singh.