Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar believes that the team is well and truly moving on from Mohammed Shami and that is why are not bringing in the veteran pacer for any of their upcoming assignments. The 35-year-old's last appearance for the Men in Blue came in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand that was held in March.
Shami fails to make it despite Ranji heroics
Despite picking up 15 wickets in three matches for Bengal in the ongoing Ranji Trophy campaign, Shami wasn't picked in India's squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. He is also expected to remain absent from the squads for both ODIs and T20Is. On the other hand, Akash Deep was called up even though he only racked up four scalps in two games for Bengal.
Nayar remarked that Shami's exclusion indicates that the national team has moved on from him and pointed out that Akash Deep was picked because he has delivered for the side whenever he has been called up.
"It is a clear indicator. It is an indicator that India is sort of trying to look forward. Right or wrong, it is not for us to decide," Nayar said on Star Sports.
"Akash Deep, again, is a local lad who has played a lot of cricket there, so he understands the conditions. He is always, to be fair to him, whenever he has got an opportunity, he has delivered with the new ball. He has made an impact. He has really liked the setup because he goes all out every time he gets an opportunity. So it is a good investment in the future," he added.
India's bowling combination for SA Tests
Meanwhile, India have opted to go for a bowling combination of three seam options and four spinners each. The pacers include the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj while the spin optios are Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
India's squad for South Africa Tests: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep.