Mohammed Shami will turn out for Bengal when the Ranji Trophy begins on Wednesday, and he made it clear the outing is also a message. The 35-year-old quick has been left out of India’s one-day and T20 squads for the short trip to Australia later this month. For Shami, the logic feels odd.
“If I can play four-dayers [Ranji Trophy], I can also play 50-overs cricket,” he told PTI on Tuesday. “Selection is not in my hands. If there is a fitness issue, I shouldn’t be here playing for Bengal.”
Key facts first: Shami last played for India at the Champions Trophy in March. Since then the Test side has toured England, the T20 outfit has lifted the Asia Cup and the home season opened with a 2-0 sweep of West Indies. None of those squads included him. He has appeared only nine times for India since ankle and knee surgery in late 2024.
Shami insists the body is fine. He bowled for two weeks at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, then joined Bengal’s camp. “It’s not my job to give updates on my fitness,” he said. “My job is to go to the NCA, prepare and play matches. That’s their matter who gives them updates or not.”
Selection chairman Ajit Agarkar offered a different angle when India’s Test squad was named in September. Shami, he pointed out, had not played much multi-day cricket since mid-2023. “So, as a performer, we know what he can do. But he will need to play something,” Agarkar said.
Shami is doing exactly that this week. In more than a decade of international cricket he has played 197 matches, peaking at the 2023 ODI World Cup where he was India’s leading wicket-taker. The hunger, he insists, remains.
“Keep fighting, keep playing games. If you perform well, it will benefit you as well,” he said. “If you don’t select me, then I will come here and play for Bengal. I’ve no issue with it. I also don’t want to play in pain or make the [Indian] team suffer. I wanted to come back after the operation and make a strong comeback. I am ready to go whenever they want me to go.”
There is also a wider point, one veterans often make. Domestic cricket still matters. “In the old days, Ranji Trophy was a big level for anyone. But today, we have a platform, and you think it’s an ‘insult’ to go back to play junior cricket like Ranji Trophy. I don’t think so. You should play four-day cricket.”
For Bengal, Shami’s presence is a boost. For India’s selectors, it provides live evidence of where his rhythm and workload sit. And for Shami himself, a solid game or two may be the simplest way to prove what words cannot.
