Despite performing well for Bengal in the domestic circuit, Mohammed Shami is currently out of the team in India. Mohammed Shami was last seen in action for India during their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 win in the UAE earlier this year.
Shami has not played a Test since the New Zealand series at home last year and there is no clarity on whether the fast bowler will make a comeback after being ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa at home.
Now, finally new information has come to light about the reason why Shami was continuously being dropped from the Indian cricket team. Indian captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir and a series of behind-the-scenes events that changed everything for one of India’s finest fast bowlers.
The real reason behind Mohammed Shami’s continuous neglect from Team India has come to light.
As RavSportz journalist Rohit Juglan reports, things started going wrong during the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand last year. After the match, Indian captain Rohit Sharma addressed the media and talked about Shami’s fitness, mentioning that the fast bowler was battling swelling in his knee.
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This comment created confusion because, around the same time, Shami appeared at an event in Gurgaon and insisted that he was fully fit. Even after the Bengaluru Test, Shami was seen bowling to the Indian players and some support staff in the nets. Despite his leg being bandaged, he pushed himself to prove that his body could still handle the workload.
However, the primary concern of the Indian cricket team management was his long-term recovery, as they wanted him to be fully fit ahead of the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The journalist claimed that at the time, Shami was reportedly involved in several brand shoots and promotional commitments, which affected his rehabilitation process.
Mohammed Shami did not show full commitment during the recovery phase!!
The team doctors gave him a strict recovery plan, but his fitness did not improve as expected. Shami did not give his best during his recovery process and at that time the Indian team management had already made up its mind.
By the time the team reached Adelaide, the coaching staff and selectors reportedly felt that Shami had not taken his recovery seriously and had not shown full commitment to regaining his fitness at a time when the team needed him most.
A clear deadline was set for the Indian fast bowler to prove his fitness, but he failed to meet it. And at that time the team management had made it clear that Shami’s place in the team would no longer be confirmed. Although everyone knew that Jasprit Bumrah would face a heavy workload if he played five Tests, the team decided not to recall Shami for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
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How the decisions of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir ended Mohammed Shami’s Test career?
Rohit Sharma also played an important role in handling the situation. After the Bengaluru episode, communication between the two reportedly became limited. And then, Gautam Gambhir, known for his straightforward approach as a coach, was adamant about maintaining discipline and fitness standards. Hence, the team management decided to move on from Shami.
Another aspect that reportedly worked against Shami was his tendency to speak openly about internal matters. The team has a strong culture against publicly discussing players’ internal decisions and this attitude did not go down well with the selectors and the team management.
Recently Shami had given a statement against chief selector Ajit Agarkar and he was once again ignored in Test selection.
