Shami has not been selected in Team India for any limited over series since India’s humiliating exit from the last T20 World Cup held in Dubai in 2021.
Shami was rested for the home series against West Indies, but was not included in the squad for the Sri Lanka series. Shami has played only 5 Test matches since the last T20 World Cup.
BCCI sources while talking to TOI said – Not every bowler can be fed in every format. Jasprit Bumrah is the only bowler who fits in every format. The team management has made this thing clear to the players and Shami must have been told this too.
Recently, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was given a clear picture about his Test career, similarly there is a possibility of talking directly to Mohammed Shami.
In his career span of 9 years, Shami has played only 17 T20 Internationals, in which his economy rate is 9.54. However, Shami’s ODI career in white ball cricket is far better than that of T20.
In ODIs, he has taken 148 wickets in 79 matches. His economy is 5.62. There have been constant questions about Shami’s fielding as well.
Many times such things have come to the fore that he is not that fast on the field. The team management wants to go to the World Cup with more agile players.
At present, the team has bowlers like Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Siraj and Avesh Khan who are doing well in T20. Shardul and Deepak can show good hands in batting too. Shami does not bat.
In such a situation, if Shami is not able to wreak havoc with his bowling in this IPL, then his selection in the T20 World Cup will be almost impossible.
In IPL 2022, Mohammed Shami will be seen playing against Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans. Shami has been bought by the franchise for 6.25 crores. He took 19 wickets in 14 matches while playing for Punjab Kings in the last IPL season.