India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series, which is all set to take place this month, was released on Saturday. There was a controversy — the recurring omission of veteran pacer Mohammad Shami from the India set-up.
His numbers in recent domestic tournaments had raised hopes of a comeback. Shami has been a consistent ray of hope for Bengal and he almost bulldozed his way through the 2025-26 domestic season, proving his fitness and rhythm. He has taken 20 wickets in four Ranji Trophy matches, with an average of 18.60, and a seven-wicket haul vs Uttarakhand. In SMAT T20s, he took 16 wickets in seven matches at 14.93, two four-wicket hauls acting as icing on the cake. In the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy one-dayers, he has 11 dismissals to his name in five matches. As far as domestic cricket is concerned, he proved his mettle across formats.
The 2023 ODI World Cup was a monumental one for Shami. He finished as the highest wicket-taker with 24 scalps and came up with match-winning spells. After an ankle injury and surgery, he was out for nearly a year. He returned to the ODI set-up for the 2025 Champions Trophy, where he was the joint highest wicket-taker with Varun Chakravarthy, with a fifer against Bangladesh.
Former India cricketer and Bengal’s coach, Laxmi Ratan Shukla came out in Shami’s support. “The selection committee has done injustice to Shami. No international player has played domestic cricket with as much dedication as Shami in the recent past. Even after toiling hard, what the selection committee has done to Shami is shameful.”
With Jasprit Bumrah not considered for the New Zealand ODIs due to workload management, many expected his former new-ball partner to be back considering his massive experience. However, with an eye on the 2027 World Cup, the team management and selectors tend to be pivoting towards younger talents like Harshit Rana or Prasidh Krishna.
Fitness, age — Shami has to face these questions all the time. With the New Zealand series starting on January 11, Shami perhaps remains a forgotten stalwart of the Indian pace attack. He might have already played his final game in the blue.
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