"If Mohammed Shami Was Fit, He'd Be In The Team": BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar At NDTV World Summit 2025

Mohammed Shami had recently taken a dig at the BCCI selectors for snubbing him from the Indian cricket team's white-ball tour of Australia. BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, while speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2025 on Friday, has responded to the comment. The fast bowler had said that his availability for Bengal in Ranji Trophy proved he is fit and it is not his job to update the selection panel on this. Shami, who last represented India in the Champions Trophy triumph and finished as the country's top wicket-taker alongside Varun Chakravarthy, has battled recurring ankle and knee injuries that required surgery after the 2023 World Cup.

While reacting to the comment made by Shami, Agarkar said that the player would have been in the team, had he been fit.

"If he says that to me, I will probably answer that. I mean if he was here, I would probably do that. I am not quite sure what he said on social media. Maybe if I read that, I might give him a call but my phone is always on for most players. I have had multiple chats with him over the last few months, but I don't want to try and give you a headline here," said Agarkar.

"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 games that is going on. We will find out in a couple of more games. 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.

India are set to play three ODIs and a five-match T20I series Down Under, starting October 19. The series will see the return of veteran players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the national colours. This will be the first international game for the duo since the 2025 Champions Trophy final in March.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team Mohammad Shami Ajit Agarkar NDTVWorldSummit2025News