Mohammed Shami has made a quiet peace with what increasingly looks like the end of his India career but he hasn’t forgotten being pushed aside, and he isn’t pretending it makes complete sense to him either. The 35-year-old pacer, who spent 12 years as the backbone of India’s bowling attack, last wore the blue jersey in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy a match India won against New Zealand. Since then, despite returning to full fitness and piling up 67 wickets in the 2025-26 domestic season, Shami has found every door to the national side firmly shut. Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar has continued to overlook him across all three formats.
Speaking on the Shubhankar Mishra podcast, Shami didn’t mince words about his IPL record — or about what he feels the numbers demand from the selectors. “As far as the IPL is concerned, look at my record. No other Indian bowler comes close to me. I am still not a T20 bowler. Look at the last 5-6 years. I have picked close to 130 wickets. What more do you want?” he said.
The frustration is not new. Shami was dropped from India’s T20I setup after the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and then promptly went on to win the Purple Cap in the IPL. He was never recalled to the shortest format. The pattern repeated across ODIs and, now, Tests.
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A Career That Needs No Defence
Even if the comeback never materialises, Shami’s résumé stands on its own. He made his ODI debut in the 2013 home series against Pakistan and went on to become India’s leading wicket-taker at the 2023 ODI World Cup with 24 scalps. Along the way, he claimed an ODI hat-trick, registered a career-best 7/57 against New Zealand in Tests, and was part of Indian Test squads that won in Australia twice. By any measure, it is a career built on substance, not sentiment.
Shami himself seems to have arrived at a place of genuine acceptance though not without acknowledging that his hands are tied.
“Honestly, it doesn’t make a difference to me. Look at my domestic record. If you give me the ball, only then will I be able to do something. Otherwise, I can only serve as a water boy. I can take wickets only when I have the ball in hand. But if not, my hands are tied. But it’s not like I am very disturbed or something. I am satisfied. Whatever cricket I have played for India, I have received a lot of name, fame and money. I have given so many years to the country and played so many World Cups,” he said.
If the 2025 Champions Trophy final turns out to be his last appearance for India, Shami exits not bitter but with the quiet confidence of a man who knows exactly what he delivered, and what was left on the table by others.
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