'Injustice, Shameful': Bengal Coach Slams Ajit Agarkar For Mohammed Shami's Snub

Bengal head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla chastised the Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee for leaving out senior fast-bowler Mohammed Shami from India’s squad for the upcoming ODI series against New

Zealand. Shukla said ‘no international player’ has been as committed as Shami to the domestic season, saying it was ‘shameful’ and an ‘injustice’ that the quick hasn’t been rewarded for it.

Shami last played for India’s ODI team in the 2025 Champions Trophy, where his performances were key to India lifting the title. He had fitness issues both before and after that tournament, but seems to have put it behind him, with 11 wickets to his name in five matches at an average of 22.27. On the day of the squad selection announcement, Shami returned figures of 3/55 and even scored 25 runs unbeaten against Assam.

“The selection committee has done an injustice to Mohammed Shami. No international player has played domestic cricket with as much dedication as Shami in the recent past. Even after toiling hard in domestic cricket, what the selection committee has done with Shami is shameful,” Shukla said on Saturday (January 3), as quoted by Revsportz.

India have picked four frontline pace options for the series, in Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh. Siraj wasn’t part of the last ODI series against South Africa, which means the selectors did see a space for an extra pacer in the team and chose the Hyderabad quick over Shami.

Before the announcement, Ajit Agarkar was asked several times about Shami. Each time, he has pointed out Shami’s lack of match fitness.  There was no press conference for this squad’s announcement.

India’s squad for New Zealand ODIs: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal