Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Mohammed Shami isn’t being considered for selection across formats as he isn’t bowling at his best. After making a comeback from injury, which he suffered in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Shami wasn’t seen at his absolute best.
Shami scalped nine wickets in five matches of the 2025 Champions Trophy. But barring a five-wicket haul, he didn’t bowl like old-Shami. Recently, Shami said he wants to make a comeback to the team and deliver the goods.
Shami was not considered for the five Test matches against England as he wasn’t fully fit and had recently played a Duleep Trophy match, in which he could only take a solitary wicket against North Zone while playing for East Zone.
“I think Mohammad Shami has also said, ‘What’s your problem with me?’ Some people want him to retire. I don’t know who those people are, but he doesn’t want to retire, and wants to play. He is saying that he is fit, available, and playing, and if he is playing, he should be selected. It’s a fair argument,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“However, if you look at it from the selectors’ point of view, and even after including the Champions Trophy, where he picked up a five-wicket haul, but despite that, you have felt every time that he is not the 100-percent old Shami. The full throttle Mohammad Shami wasn’t seen in the IPL. He wasn’t bowling at the same speed in the Champions Trophy. I had never seen him bowl five wides in an over, but that also happened there,” he added.
The renowned commentator said Shami is being compared with his past records and it is not helping the Bengal pacer.
“Shami’s problem is that everybody pays a price for their own success. I am talking about people who are more successful. You don’t compare Shami with anyone else. You compare Shami with Shami’s best, and then you see that the same Mohammad Shami is not being seen,” he explained.
Chopra reckons Shami needs to convince the team’s management that he has the right rhythm in his bowling to make a comeback into the national side.
“Wickets will never be a parameter for Shami. For Shami, it would be about the rhythm he is running with, if the run-up is with the full throttle and the ball is going the same way. If that’s happening, he can be back, but the selectors, team management, and captain will have to be convinced. At this point in time, it doesn’t seem like they are convinced, and that is the reality,” Chopra observed.
Shami would look to come up with consistent performances in the domestic season.
