Former South African fast-bowling great Dale Steyn has revealed that he repeatedly urged the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) management to secure Mohammed Shami during his stint as the franchise’s bowling coach. Steyn, who worked with SRH from 2021 to 2024, said those years aligned with Shami’s peak, highlighted by his Purple Cap-winning campaign in IPL 2023.
SRH had earlier bought Shami for INR 10 crore at the mega auction, but the veteran pacer struggled to deliver for the franchise due to fitness issues
and inconsistency. With just six wickets in nine matches during the 2025 season, Shami had a disappointing outing, which has led to speculation about his future. Reports suggest he may be traded to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the auction or even released.
Steyn expressed that he would be disappointed to see SRH let go of such a high-quality bowler but acknowledged that fitness concerns can influence retention decisions. He stressed, however, that a fully fit and in-form Shami would walk into any IPL team without question. The 35-year-old has been in good rhythm recently, picking up 15 wickets in three Ranji Trophy matches.
"When I was bowling coach of Sunrisers, I was like, please, can we somehow get Mohammed Shami. And the moment that I wasn't there, they got him. So, I would be disappointed if you lost him. I think fitness and form play a key role when it comes to the IPL, especially with bowlers. You want bowlers to be fit,” said Steyn on Star Sports.
"You want them to be firing, and if Shami is fit and firing, he'll make any team. But if he's been struggling a little bit and he's had a couple of months off, some teams might say, you know what, there are other players that we would like to come into the team right now because they're fit. They're firing, and you would have been good a year and a half. for us, but not right now. So that release might happen. But yeah, three years ago when I was there, I was begging for him," he added.
