He last played for India in March 2025, during the Champions Trophy.
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa thinks a recurring left knee injury could be a reason why the BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, are not picking Mohammad Shami for the India ODI squad time and again. This is despite Shami doing well in the domestic circuit, including the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, and despite Jasprit Bumrah resting.
Speaking on The Royal Show podcast on his official YouTube channel, Uthappa speculated that Shami is believed to be wanted at 100 percent fitness by the selectors, doubting that he is still facing a recurring knee injury that first troubled him in 2024.
“They want Shami to be 100 percent fit, and in my view, he’s not 100 fit. You can play first-class cricket, but lack the match fitness to play internationals. I haven’t talked to Shami. I’ve no information about this, I know there is a concern for the selectors or the BCCI is that his left knee swells. He gets a lot of swelling there, right? I don’t know if that is fully addressed,” said Uthappa.
Fans were very angry, wanting explanations from chief selector Ajit Agarkar and coach Gautam Gambhir. This was particularly true since Shami had played very well in domestic cricket after being out with an injury for a long time. The bowler has not played in Test matches since the 2023 World Test Championship final and was not chosen for the Test series against West Indies, white-ball series vs Australia and all-format series against South Africa.
Mohammed Shami took injections to play during the 2023 ODI World Cup at home. This kept him out of action for nearly a year. He had surgery in February 2024 and then went through rehab at the National Cricket Academy. There were whispers that knee swelling would prevent him from playing in the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar series, though he denied these reports.
Shami made a return in the Ranji Trophy in November 2024 against Madhya Pradesh, taking 7 wickets for 156 runs. He then took 11 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, with an average of 25.36 and an economy rate of 7.85. This earned him a spot back in the squad for the 2025 series against England. In the T20Is, he took 3 wickets at an average of 16.67, and in the ODIs, he managed 2 wickets for 104 runs.
Shami led India’s pace attack in the Champions Trophy 2025 in the UAE and Pakistan, emerging as the joint-second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, with nine scalps in five matches at an average of 25.88 and an economy rate of 5.68, including a five-wicket haul.
The Champions Trophy 2025 was followed by the IPL 2025 and India’s tour to England for the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Shami’s poor performance in IPL 2025, where he claimed six wickets in nine matches at 56.16 average and an economy of 11.23. This included a record of 0 wickets for 75 runs against the Punjab Kings, which was the second-worst bowling spell in IPL history. This could be one of the reasons why the BCCI ignored him for the Asia Cup 2025, which India won, remaining undefeated.
Before Bengal’s Ranji opener against Uttarakhand, Shami said, “I have said this before, selection is not in my hands. If there is a fitness issue, I shouldn’t be here playing for Bengal… My job is to go to the NCA, prepare and play matches. That’s their matter who gives them updates or not.”
At the NDTV World Summit 2025, Agarkar remarked, “If he was fit, he’d be in the team… If he does stay fit over the next few months, the story might be different. But at this point, as far as I know, he wasn’t fit enough.”
The Bengal cricketer responded, saying, “Let him say whatever he wants. You have seen how I bowled.”
ALSO READ:
Proving his fitness and form, Shami snared 20 wickets in seven Ranji Trophy 2025-26 innings at a staggering average of 18.60, including a five-wicket haul. However, the Bengal seamer was still ignored for the West Indies Tests and white-ball tour to Australia. He was also left out of the India squad for the all-format series against South Africa at home, featuring two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is.
At 36, he knows that performing well in domestic cricket is his way back. The cricketer continued to prove his point with Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy exploits, bagging 16 wickets in 7 matches at 14.93 average and 8.90 economy. He carried that momentum in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, 15 wickets in 7 innings on flat tracks at an average of 24.53, displaying the hunger to represent India at the grandest level is still alive.
However, the Agarkar-led selection committee, which has openly spoken about focusing on domestic performances, once again ignored in his case, leaving him out of the T20 World Cup 2026 and white-ball series against New Zealand at home, including three ODIs and five T20Is.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
