He might have fallen down the pecking order, but Mohammed Shami seems laser-focused on winning his place back in the Indian Test team, having delivered another commanding performance with the ball for his domestic
team Bengal in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season. The veteran fast bowler produced career-best bowling figures of 8/90 against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy semi-final to give Bengal a crucial, potentially match-defining, first-innings lead of 26 runs at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani on Tuesday.
Shami has taken his wickets tally to 36 from 12 innings, which is currently the sixth best of the ongoing Ranji season. The 35-year-old has been slogging it out in the domestic circuit regularly ever since making his competitive return from a long-injury layoff in November 2024.
He briefly made his international return at the start of 2025, featuring in T20Is and India’s victorious Champions Trophy campaign as well. However, since then, he hasn’t been picked in any India squad, with the selectors unsure whether the veteran of 64 Tests can go through the rigours of five-day cricket again.
Last year in October, Shami, despite the repeated snubs, had declared his desire to represent India again at international level.
“A lot of hard work is there, and I believe luck too plays a part. Every person wants to play for the country. So, I am ready for that (again),” Shami told reporters after claiming a five-wicket haul against Gujarat earlier in the season.
“My motivation is to stay fit and be available for the Indian team at all times. On the ground, I will continue to perform, and the rest is on the selectors’ hands,” he added.
Why Selectors Ignored Shami?
Shami wasn’t considered for India’s Test squads for the home series against West Indies and South Africa in 2025. He wasn’t picked for the team’s white-ball tour of Australia either last year.
BCCI’s chairman of selection committee (men), Ajit Agarkar, had explained that Shami needs to play more to win back their confidence.
“He’s not played a lot of cricket. In the last two-three years, I think he’s played one match for Bengal and one match in the Duleep Trophy. So, as a performer, we know what he can do. But, he will need to play something,” Agarkar had said last year.
