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New Delhi: India announced their squad for the two-match Test series against South Africa beginning on November 14 in Kolkata on Wednesday. While Rishabh Pant and Akash Deep made their way into the squad, Mohammed Shami's absence once again was the most notable omission as the star pacer was expected to be a part of the Test team.
Despite a remarkable performance in the ongoing Ranji Trophy for Bengal, Shami, who has been out of the international arena for some time now, faced the axe once again. Does this snub mean the end of the road for the veteran pacer or will he be considered in the red-ball matches ahead? Expected to be back for the international side, the seamer last played a match in March 2025 and has since been ignored.
Bad fortune started for Shami since the 2023 ODI World Cup when he got himself injured and that the injury kept him out of action for the entire 2024 year. Shami proved to be India's highest wicket-taker in World Cup 2023 and the second-highest wicket-taker in this year's Champions Trophy where he appeared last.
Shami snubbed despite brilliant Ranji run
Despite this, he was snubbed from the England Test series in June this year, though he participated in the IPL 2025 before that. Not just this, in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, he has played a superb part guiding Bengal to consecutive victories against Uttarakhand and Gujarat. Shami has bowled a total of 93 overs and scalped as many as 15 wickets in the tournament so far.
As per a report in news agency PTI, the selectors are not sure whether Shami can survive and sustain the toughness of Test cricket which requires bowling long spells. In domestic cricket matches too, the senior bowler takes rest in between while bowling spells. Shami, who has 462 wickets to his name across across formats, last played in a Test match back in 2023 and fitness seems to be the reason for his ouster again and again.
