BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar has responded to comments made by Mohammed Shami recently. The veteran fast bowler is not in the Indian white-ball squads for the tour of Australia. Shami expressed frustration, saying that his participation for Bengal in Ranji Trophy was proof of his fitness. He also said it was not his job to inform the selectors about his fitness.
Agarkar shared his views at the NDTV World Summit 2025 on Friday. He said Shami’s omission was only due to fitness issues.
“If he says that to me, I will probably answer that. I mean if he was here, I would probably do that. I am not quite sure what he said on social media. Maybe if I read that, I might give him a call. My phone is always on for most players. I have had multiple chats with him over the last few months, but I don’t want to try and give you a headline here,” said Agarkar.
Agarkar praised Shami’s contribution to Indian cricket. “He has been an incredible performer for India. If he said something, maybe that is a conversation for me to have with him or him to have with me. But even before England, we said if he was fit, he would have been on that plane. Unfortunately, he wasn’t,” Agarkar added.
The former pacer also said performance in domestic matches could bring Shami back into the squad. “Our domestic season has just started, so we will see if he is fit enough and we will see where it goes. This is the first round of Ranji games that is going on. We will find out in a couple of more games. If he is bowling well, why would you not want to have someone like Shami. But what we have found in the last six-eight months to a year, even during the Australia tour, we were desperate to have him, but unfortunately his fitness wasn’t there. If he does stay fit over the next few months, the story might be different,” Agarkar said.
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