Mohammed Shami’s long, uneasy absence from India’s white-ball plans may finally be nearing an end
After months of speculation over his fitness, form, and future, the 35-year-old fast bowler is back on the selectors’ radar, with the 2027 ODI World Cup now emerging as a clear reference point for his potential return. According to NDTV’s conversation with a BCCI source, Shami’s domestic performances are being “closely tracked”, and a recall is no longer a distant possibility.
“Mohammed Shami is being discussed on a regular basis. He is not out of reckoning. The only concern is about his fitness. A bowler of his calibre will get wickets. It is wrong to say he is out of the selection radar. He is looking good for the New Zealand One-Day series. Do not be surprised if he is picked, given his experience and ability to take wickets at will. Even the 2027 World Cup is a possibility.”
It is a significant shift in tone for a player who has not represented India since the ICC Champions Trophy in March 2025, despite finishing that tournament as India’s joint-highest wicket-taker with nine scalps. His last ODI came against New Zealand in that competition, while his most recent Test appearance dates back even further – the World Test Championship final against Australia in June 2023.
Shami’s case has refused to fade away, largely because his numbers have kept the conversation alive. He has taken 17 wickets in his last six matches (three Vijay Hazare Trophy games and three in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy). In the Ranji Trophy, he picked up 20 wickets in just four matches this season, underlining that his ability to strike remains intact.
Former India cricketers have also questioned his continued exclusion. Mohammad Kaif publicly expressed surprise at Shami being left out of recent ODI squads, particularly when senior quicks Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were rested. With India experimenting in their pace department, Shami’s absence stood out more sharply given his proven record in high-pressure tournaments.
The issue, however, has never been skill. It has been fitness.
Shami has battled recurring ankle and knee injuries since the 2023 World Cup, undergoing surgery and long rehabilitation spells that disrupted his rhythm and availability. That uncertainty has been central to the selectors’ caution, even as Shami insisted he was fit enough to play, pointing to his availability for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.
That tension spilled into the open earlier this year when Shami took a public dig at the selection panel after being ignored for India’s white-ball tour of Australia. He argued that it was not his responsibility to keep updating selectors about his fitness if he was already playing domestic cricket.
Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors, responded to those remarks at the NDTV World Summit 2025 in October, striking a measured but firm tone.
“He has been an incredible performer for India,” Agarkar said. “If he said something, maybe that is a conversation for me to have with him or him to have with me. But even before England, we said if he was fit, he would have been on that plane. Unfortunately, he wasn’t.”
Agarkar underlined that the selectors had been eager to bring Shami back, including during the Australia tour, but fitness concerns repeatedly stalled those plans.
“Our domestic season has just started, so we will see if he is fit enough,” he added. “This is the first round of Ranji games that is going on. We will find out in a couple more games. If he is bowling well, why would you not want to have someone like Shami?”
