BCCI selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed Mohammed Shami missed India’s squad for the Australia series due to fitness concerns, with his return dependent on domestic matches.
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar has addressed Mohammed Shami’s fitness and future in the national team. Shami last represented India during their title-winning Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year. Agarkar praised Shami’s consistent performances but confirmed the pacer missed selection for recent tours due to fitness concerns.
The selection committee plans to reassess Shami after he plays two more matches in the ongoing 2025/26 Ranji Trophy. Agarkar noted that while the team has been eager to include Shami, his fitness over the past six to eight months, including the Australia tour, was insufficient for selection. If Shami maintains fitness in the coming months, he could rejoin India’s squad. The committee will monitor his form and physical condition closely.
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“He has been an incredible performer for India. If he said something, maybe that is a conversation for me to have with him or him to have with me but even before England, we said if he was fit, he would have been on that plane. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. Our domestic season has just started so we will see if he is fit enough and we will see where it goes. This is the first round of Ranji Trophy that is going on. We will find out in a couple of more games,” stated Agarkar while speaking at NDTV World Summit 2025.
“If he is bowling well, why would you not want to have someone like a Shami but what we have found in the last six-eight months to a year, even during the Australia tour, we were desperate to have him on, but unfortunately his fitness wasn’t there. If he does stay fit over the next few months, the story might be different but at this point, as far as I know, he wasn’t fit enough for that England tour,” he added.
Presently, Shami is playing for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, taking 3/37 in 14.5 overs in the first innings and 0/21 in 15 overs in the second against Uttarakhand at the end of Day 3.
Last Updated on October 17, 2025
