Is Mohammed Shami on the exit door for Tests?

Ravi Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli… is it the turn of Mohammed Shami next at the exit door? The axe on the senior paceman for the tour of England, much on expected lines due to his fitness issues, signals the writing on the wall as far as Shami’s Test career is concerned.

It’s one hell of a transition that India’s red ball set-up is looking at – what with the 34-year-old not really looking the same bowler ever since he staged a comeback in domestic cricket after a lay-off of more than a year due to an ankle surgery after the 2023 World Cup. The IPL mega auction saw him being snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a hefty Rs 10 crores, but the rhythm was missing and Shami finished with six wickets from nine games – that too at an economy rate of 11-plus.

A candid Shami told TOI in an interview on the eve of the crucial selection committee meeting: ‘’No, I am not satisfied. I couldn’t deliver what I wanted to.’’ The BCCI medical team monitoring Shami’s case also felt his ability to bowl longer spells were doubtful due to a knee issue and the selectors, who were initially planning to name him in the India A squad, finally decided to play it safe. A prudent decision under the circumstances, given the fact that Jasprit Bumrah – their pace warhead – will not be playing all five Tests either.

Asked about Shami’s exclusion, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said in the media interaction: ‘’He (Shami) had a little bit of setback over the past week, got some MRIs done. Wasn’t going to be able to play five Tests. Don’t think his workload is where he needs to be. Medical guys told he’ll be ruled out. We’re hoping he will play some part but if he’s not fit, we would rather pick guys fit and available rather than waiting.’’

There are five pacemen named in the 18-member squad including Bumrah, with the left-arm Arshdeep Singh expected to provide an X-factor in the attack, the experienced Mohammed Siraj, Prasiddh Krishna and Akash Deep. The last-named, who plays for Bengal, is almost a clone of Shami in terms of action and his ability to move the ball off the seam in both directions – but matching the Amroah Express’ quality can be a tall order.

The loaded question, at this point, is whether the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval in London against Australia would be Shami’s last Test match.  The owner of 229 Test wickets, who took his Test bow against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in 2013, had been a key figure during the Kohli-Ravi Shastri-Bharat Arun regime of relying on the pace pack to win matches.

It was not till the 2018-19 tour of South Africa that Bumrah was initiated into Test cricket but Shami had forged an effective partnership with the likes of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhubaneshwar Kumar.

The last ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai saw Shami emerging as joint second highest wicket taker with nine scalps, but he was not at his best. In a career already plagued by serious injuries (a career-threatening knee surgery after his first 50-overs World Cup in 2015, an ankle surgery after being the highest wicket taker in 2023) the man has certainly given it his all.

However, it’s a different ballgame to bowl 12-15 overs a day – sometimes more – with a classical action where momentum plays a big role at an advancing age can be tough.

Will he, then, restrict himself to white ball cricket – and the franchise variety – in the coming days? Shrachi Rarh Tigers, one of the teams in the upcoming Bengal Pro T20 League have picked the veteran on board as their marquee player and are excited at the prospect of having him around.

‘’When we bid for him, we had no idea that Shami would be available for the league as it would be clashing with the England tour. His presence in the dugout, whether he plays or not, will be of immense help to the other bowlers,’’ remarked Tamal Ghoshal, CEO of the Shrachi Group.