Mohammed Shami SLAPS Ajit Agarkar's right-hand man with 31-ball Ranji Trophy fifty after India snub

Indian veteran pacer Mohammed Shami has been desperately trying to make a comeback for India in any format of the game. Despite his strong performances with the ball across all three formats of the game in domestic cricket, he has constantly been ignored by the BCCI Chief Selector, Ajit Agarkar. However, this time around, he added a new attribute to his resume.

Ever since the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, Mohammed Shami has not played a single game for India in any of the three international formats. Though not for T20Is, Shami is often considered for the Test and ODI side by the Indian fans and cricket fanatics; however, the selectors have cited various reasons, including injuries, lack of form, lack of regular matches, and many more, for his constant snubs.

Shami's form has been terrific in the Ranji Trophy, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. Ever since RP Singh was appointed as a member of the BCCI Board of Selectors, he has himself witnessed many of Shami's classics.

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Mohammed Shami takes control with a half-century; BCCI Selector in total awe

The Bengal pacer is getting older, and yet he is doing everything a pacer can do with the ball. This was the right time for India to start considering him, since the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup will be played in South Africa, where conditions will favour the veteran's style of seam bowling.

RP Singh, the National Selector from the Central Zone, has been keeping an eye on Mohammed Shami. Shami, until now, was delivering with the ball, but this time he has stunned all with a batting masterclass against Andhra.

Shami came out to bat at No. 10 and scored a 31-ball half-century, which took Bengal off to a massive 629 and was part of a successful partnership alongside Mukesh Kumar. The out-of-favour India pacer hit 7 fours and 3 sixes in his innings and aced his half-century with a strike rate of 160.61 against Andhra Pradesh in the Third Quarter-Final of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26.

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Mohammad Shami is Bengal's second-highest wicket-taker this season

Mohammed Shami has been one of Bengal's most standout pacers in this season of the Ranji Trophy. He has not only been one of the strike bowlers but has rather been the choker of scoring rates, which has exerted the pressure on the opposition batsmen.

Shami is the second-highest wicket-taker in the season. Having played 6 matches and bowled in 10 of those innings, he has picked 28 wickets for them. While on the other hand, Shahbaz Ahmed, the left-arm spinner, is the highest wicket-getter with 35 wickets in just 7 matches and 12 innings.

Shami also picked up crucial wickets in the quarterfinal match against Andhra Pradesh, while Mukesh Kumar picked up a five-wicket haul and Akash Deep also backed him with a 4-fer.

Sudip Gharami missed out on a stupendous Triple-century

While batters like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Shahbaz Ahmed failed to star with the bat, Sudip Kumar Gharami, the seasoned no. 3 from Bengal, played an innings of a lifetime. Sudip scored a double century and batted throughout their innings.

He came in to bat when just one wicket fell for the Bengal side and then was dismissed as the 9th wicket for Bengal. His innings was comprised of 299 runs, as he missed his triple century by a whisker.

The other batters to make significant contributions include Sumanta Gupta and Shakir Habib Ghosh, who also missed out on a well-deserve century and then Mohammed Shami, who stunned all with a lower-order cameo.

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