Mohammed Shami's childhood coach, Mohammed Badruddin, opined that the BCCI selectors are intentionally ignoring the legendary bowler's name when it comes to his return to the Indian team. The right-arm seamer made a comeback from an ankle injury last season but wasn't fast-tracked into the national team. He played domestic cricket, looking to prove his fitness to the selectors.
While Shami played white-ball cricket for India earlier this year, he has not been able to make a comeback in the Test arena.
He has bowled well in the Ranji Trophy this season, picking up 15 wickets in three games for Bengal at an average of 15.5. However, when the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee named the squad for the home Test series against South Africa, Shami's name was missing.
Badruddin believes that picking Shami in the side against the Proteas could have given the Indian team management the chance to reduce Jasprit Bumrah's workload.
"My thought is simple — they are ignoring him, that’s clear. There’s no other reason that makes sense to me. He’s not unfit — when a player is playing Test matches, taking 15 wickets in two games, then he doesn’t look unfit from anywhere. I don’t think he’s unfit," said Badruddin in an interview with India Today.
"The selectors are just overlooking him, that’s it. Why they are doing that, only they can say. But I really thought he would be picked for this series, because it’s in India and only two fast bowlers will play anyway. Still, he should have been in the squad. That would’ve helped reduce Bumrah’s workload — because Bumrah can’t play three-and-a-half Tests in a row. They should’ve kept Shami for rotation, that’s what I feel," he added.
If you’re selecting for Tests using T20 metrics, that’s not right: Badruddin
Shami's personal coach stated that selection to the Test team should depend on red-ball performances and not on how a player performs in T20 cricket. Badruddin feels that the selectors' questioning Shami's match fitness is an excuse to keep him away from the side, as they have decided beforehand on the players they want to pick.
"I think they’ve made up their minds that they won’t pick him for now, and in my view, that’s completely wrong. When you select a Test team, it should be based on Ranji Trophy performances. If you’re selecting for Tests using T20 metrics, that’s not right.
"You should look at who’s doing well in Ranji, and pick from there. But here, it looks like the decisions are pre-decided — they already know which players they want, and they just stick to that list. So all this talk about performance or fitness is just an excuse. Saying 'he’s unfit' or 'needs match practice' — that’s not true. They already have a plan about who they want to play and who they don’t," said Badruddin.
