"Clear Indicator": Gautam Gambhir's Ex-Assistant Spills Beans On Mohammed Shami's Regular India Snub

India's veteran pacer Mohammed Shami stays on the sidelines as the team prepares to host South Africa for two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20I matches. The fast bowler's exclusion also remained in focus during India's white-ball tour of Australia. Shami even proved his fitness by appearing for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. He impressed with his bowling as well, but none of it worked when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the upcoming matches against the Proteas earlier this month.

While Shami has been ignored once again, right-arm pacer Akash Deep is back in the Test set-up, having recovered from an injury.

Abhishek Nayar, former India batter and ex-assistant coach to Gautam Gambhir, pointed out that the team is not considering Shami now.

"It's a clear indicator. It's an indicator that India is sort of trying to look forward. Right or wrong, it's not for us to decide. But Aakash Deep, again, is a local lad who's played a lot of cricket there, so he understands the conditions. He's always, to be fair to him, whenever he's got an opportunity, he has delivered with the new ball. He's made an impact. He's really liked in the setup because he goes all out every time he gets an opportunity. So it's a good investment in the future," Nayar said on Star Sports.

"But looking at that squad, an extremely strong squad, all facets of the game, in a lot of ways, you have surety. You know how you want to go. You can play around with different combinations. And the conditions may not matter as well because you've got enormous talent in that setup," he added.

The 35-year-old pacer last played for India in the Champions Trophy in March this year. He was India's joint-highest wicket-taker at the event but failed to find a place in the team after that. Shami had endured a lengthy layoff from the game after a heel injury in 2023, which required surgery following the World Cup. At this point, given the direction in which Indian cricket is moving, Shami might not get another chance to play for India.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team Gautam Gambhir Abhishek Nayar Mohammad Shami