- By Namrata Vijay
- Tue, 14 Oct 2025 06:03 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs AUS: India's star pacer Mohammed Shami has slammed the BCCI for dropping him from India's ODI team for the series against Australia, citing fitness reasons. He was also dropped from India's Test team against England and then against the West Indies and the white-ball series against Australia. He last represented the country in the Champions Trophy.
Ajit Agarkar didn't talk about any fitness issues when enquired about Shami not being part of India's ODI team in the series against Australia, and revealed that he just didn't play enough cricket. According to some reports, the selectors didn't even consider Shami fit. The veteran bowler dismissed such claims and said that the onus was on the selectors to inform him, which they didn't till now.
“The Indian team didn’t communicate with me regarding fitness. I am not the one who would inform them about my fitness – they have to ask me. If I can play four-day cricket, then why can’t I play a 50-over game? If I wasn’t fit, I’d be at the NCA and not playing here in the Ranji Trophy," Shami told India Today.
But this is what Agarkar told reporters, “I have no update. He has played in the Duleep Trophy. But in the last two to three years, he hasn’t played a lot of cricket. I think he played one game for Bengal and one in the Duleep Trophy. As a performer, we know what he can do, but he has to play cricket."
Shami will next be seen in action in the Ranji Trophy 2025, where he will be playing for Bengal. The side also consists of India fast bowler Akash Deep, and Abhimanyu Easwaran will be leading the team.
Bengal squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Abishek Porel (vice-captain/wk), Sudip Kumar Gharami, Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Chatterjee, Sumanta Gupta, Saurabh Kumar Singh, Vishal Bhati, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Ishan Porel, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Rahul Prasad, Sumit Mohanta and Vikash Singh.