Inconsistency rightly denied Bengal a berth past the group phase of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. However, if one speaks of Mohammed Shami, the senior pacer has certainly shouldered the workload and done what he had to for Bengal in the national T20 competition.
With 16 wickets from seven games — 11 from the last three — Shami was indeed Bengal’s standout performer in their otherwise disappointing campaign.
Economy rate-wise too, Shami did a pretty decent job, going at 8.90, barring the Punjab match, where his figures read 1/61 in four overs. To be fair to Shami, though, none of the other Bengal bowlers, including those much younger than the 35-year-old, could escape Abhishek Sharma’s onslaught in that game.
For a bowler, irrespective of his age, to finish with an average of more than two wickets per match in T20s, alongside maintaining a decent economy rate, isn’t an easy job. Rather, it’s a strong statement.
“We’ve all seen how Shami bowled. He’ll be playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy too, so just hope he keeps doing well for us,” Bengal head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla said
on Tuesday.
An impressive individual performance in the national one-dayers will be a stronger statement from the senior fast bowler. But, will the statement have any impact on the national selectors and make them shift from their current stance on Shami?
Ajit Agarkar and his panel may have their reasons to not be amused with Shami’s attitude before the squad for the England Tests earlier this year was picked. Some are also of the opinion that Shami’s pace has reduced. But having said so, his performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy must have been taken note of.
All said and done, the selection panel’s current mindset will not be pleasing Shami despite his numbers. “The squad for India’s (2026) T20 World Cup is more or less finalised. At best, maybe a minor tweak or two.
“In these conditions, focus will obviously be on the spinners among whom you have Axar (Patel), Kuldeep (Yadav), Varun Chakravarthy and Washy (Washington Sundar). (Jasprit) Bumrah and Arshdeep (Singh) are likely to be the specialist quicks, with Hardik (Pandya)and Shivam Dube as the seamer all-rounders. So, where’s the place in the bowling attack?” a BCCI insider told The Telegraph.
For the ODI format too, the focus seems to be on younger quicks like Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana, regardless of their economy rates.
“By the time the next ODI World Cup begins in 2027, Shami will be 37. By that time, guys like Prasidh and Harshit will be having more number
of ODIs under their belt and gain more experience as well in the format.
“The current mindset of both the team management and the selectors is to
back these young bowlers and move on,” the Board insider stated.
Of course, nothing is sacrosanct in Indian cricket and the situation may change if any of the currently regular quicks get injured or indisposed. For the time being, Shami has to keep performing in his upcoming assignments and hope for a successful IPL 2026 campaign in Lucknow Super Giants colours.