Mohammed Shami's wait for his international return will be extending even further as the pacer is currently not in India's plans for any format. The 35-year-old's last international appearance came back in March when he played for the Men in Blue in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand. However, ever since that tournament, Shami has looked to have gone down the pecking order with Harshit Rana being preferred over him for ODIs.
Shami had impressed in the Champions Trophy, picking up nine wickets in five matches which was the joint-most for India alongside Varun Chakravarthy. It looked as if the pacer would be considered for the upcoming one-day assignments, however he was not given a place in the Men in Blue's squad for the three-match ODI series that is set to commence from October 19.
Shami's poor performance in Duleep Trophy
Now, a report by The Telegraph has claimed that Shami is not in India's ODI plans, not only because he is 35 years old, but also because he is not in great form. This comes after he flopped in Duleep Trophy for East Zone and was able to pick up just one wicket during their clash against North Zone. The pacer gave away a massive 136 runs across the two innings and proved to be on the expensive side.
"At this moment, it's getting increasingly tougher for Shami to return to the Indian team. In the Duleep game too, he wasn't too impressive, barring one odd spell," a BCCI official told The Telegraph.
"Besides, he isn't getting any younger, while pace-wise, too, he didn't seem to be at his best in Duleep. But to continue in the IPL, he has to play a decent amount of domestic games," the official added.
Shami to feature in Ranji Trophy 2025/26?
The report also claimed that Shami has made himself available for Bengal's Ranji Trophy campaign that is set to begin from October 15. Their opening clash of the tournament will be against Uttarakhand and Shami will be hoping to make a strong start. However, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is yet to finalize their squad for the competition and it remains to be seen if Shami will manage to make the cut or not.
"I had spoken to Shami six-seven days back, and he had expressed his desire to play. So, on our front, we're optimistic as far as his availability (in the Ranji opener) is concerned," Bengal head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla stated.