Is it the end of the road for Mohammed Shami?

The Print

24-05-2025

He is not yet fit for taking up Test match workload and missing out on 10 games in Australia and now England has raised questions over his future in the format. Can the 'Amroha Express' add to his 229 wickets from 64 Test appearances? At the moment, it seems like the Indian cricket establishment is ready to move on from one of the country's greatest seam and swing exponents.
However, the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar on Saturday decided to play the harbinger of doom while announcing the 18-member team, which didn't feature the name of the Bengal speedster.
New Delhi, May 24 (PTI) Mohammed Shami's possible omission from the Indian Test squad for the England tour was doing the rounds for past one week but the eternal optimist would have loved to believe that those artistic wrists would be at work in the Old Blighty.
'He has been trying to get fit for the series but he has had a little bit of a setback for the last week or so and he has got some MRIs done. I'd like to mention, I don't think he was going to be available for all five Tests. I don't think his workload is where it needs to be,' Agarkar said.
'It's what the medical guys told us that he's been ruled out of the series,' Agarkar, a pacer of repute during his own playing days, said matter-of-factly while explaining to the media about the senior pacer's absence.
In fact, BCCI's Sports Science and Medical team representative was in Lucknow earlier this week and the expert has reported that Shami's body is far from ready to take the rigours of bowling 15 to 20 overs a day and staying in the field for 90 overs.
With three of the five specialist pacers in the line-up having played less than 10 Tests (Arshdeep Singh yet to make his debut in red-ball format), the selectors would have wanted to take Shami for the series, as experience isn't always found in the supermarket.
It comes with years of honing the craft and Shami is a master whether it is the SG Test ball, Dukes or Kookaburra. When it comes to reverse swing, there are no peers of Indian team's favourite 'Lala'.
'Unfortunately, we were hoping that he's available for some part of the series at least. But if he's not fit at the moment, it's very difficult to be waiting. It's (the squad is) rather planned with the guys that are fit and available.
'So it's unfortunate that a bowler like him will always want to try and pick by himself. At the moment, he's not fit,' Agarkar said, his words reflecting how desperate the selectors were.
While Shami played the Champions Trophy in February-March and also the bulk of the games for Sunrisers Hyderabad this IPL, he has been far from his best since his return to competitive cricket during the domestic season last year.
The only first-class match that he played was the one against Madhya Pradesh on his return from ankle surgery and he bowled more than 40 overs in that Ranji Trophy game. However, many saw him taking frequent breaks between overs to get some rest.
It was also learnt that Shami didn't pay heed to the team management's requests to join them in Australia as his body wasn't ready for red-ball cricket. He wanted to slowly build upon workload in white-ball games, but strangely, even after six months, his body isn't ready for Test matches.
Obviously there weren't any day games to check how his body held up to the pressures of the longest format.
'If Mohammed Shami isn't available in Australia or England, why would the selectors pick him against West Indies and South Africa at home. They might as well use Akash Deep, Arshdeep, Harshit or Mukesh as Siraj or Bumrah's partner.
'Shami's body is ageing and one has to accept that he is no longer the bowler he used to be,' a former national selector told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
Shami is playing white-ball cricket but during this IPL, he has looked far from his menacing self while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, getting just six wickets from nine games before being dropped from the playing XI.
His official age is 34 years 263 days, but if one listens to the murmurs in the Bengal cricketing ecosystem, the UP-born pacer is believed to be close to 40 years old. The recovery for a 40-year-old pacer is doubly tough after a hard day's play.
Also the Centre of Excellence (erstwhile NCA) has had a chequered record in terms of clearing cricketers, who have broken down in the middle of a series, and the magnitude of the upcoming five Tests didn't allow the selectors to take a risk that could leave them red-faced.
Already there are enough questions as to how Mayank Yadav was declared fit as the bowler once again broke down after playing just two matches in the IPL.
While experienced, game-changing fast bowlers are a rarity, non-selection for the England tour kind of makes the writing on the wall clear as far as Shami is concerned. PTI KHS KHS AH AH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.