An Oddsworth Opinion
What Mohammed Shami's last ten Tests say about his claim to be at his peak
The story
Mohammed Shami was left out of India's squad for the tour of New Zealand. He says he is fully fit, bowling with good rhythm and still at his best, and he has no plans to give up on playing for India again.
ESPNcricinfo · 20 October at 18:02 BSTShami: 'I'm still at my peak, why would I give up hope of playing for India?'Read the full storyMohammed Shami has been left out of India's squad for the tour of New Zealand, and he is having none of it: he says he is fully fit, bowling in good rhythm and still at his peak. His Test scorecards back up about half of that. In his ten Tests from December 2021 to June 2023 he took at least two wickets every time, but the last of them, against Australia in June 2023, cost him 161 runs for his four wickets.
What Shami's last ten Tests say
The case for Shami starts with a career most seamers would take without a second thought: 229 wickets in 64 men's Tests, with six five-wicket hauls among them. That run of ten Tests opened with 8/107 against South Africa in December 2021, the kind of match that makes a selection panel look very clever indeed.
Against Australia in 2023 he took 3/31 and then 4/70, which is the Shami of the highlights package. Either side of those two matches, the cost crept up. He went for 142 runs for his two wickets against England in July 2022, and 153 for two against Australia in March 2023, long days of 37 and 39 overs in which the batters scored freely off him.
Can India's Test side manage without him?
India's own results say they can. Our ratings make them the second-best Test side of the ten, with a 68% chance of beating an average side. In their last ten Tests they beat Afghanistan by 300 runs, Sri Lanka by 165 and West Indies twice. The 408-run defeat by South Africa is the one result that looks like a side badly short of something, and one heavy loss is a thin reason to recall anybody.
- LEnglandLost by 22 runs v England, 2025-07-10
- DEnglandDrawn v England, 2025-07-23
- WEnglandWon by 6 runs v England, 2025-07-31
- WWest IndiesWon by an innings and 140 runs v West Indies, 2025-10-02
- WWest IndiesWon by 7 wickets v West Indies, 2025-10-10
- LSouth AfricaLost by 30 runs v South Africa, 2025-11-14
- LSouth AfricaLost by 408 runs v South Africa, 2025-11-22
- WAfghanistanWon by 300 runs v Afghanistan, 2026-06-06
- WSri LankaWon by 165 runs v Sri Lanka, 2026-08-15
- DSri LankaDrawn v Sri Lanka, 2026-08-23
Is Shami still at his peak?
On the Test evidence available, no. His most recent Test scorecard is that June 2023 match against Australia, and fitness and rhythm are things any bowler can claim in an interview. A panel picking a touring party has every right to want more than a claim.
Leaving him out is a defensible call. If Shami wants his place back, the proof will have to come from a scorecard, because a press conference has never taken a wicket.