Shami's latest snub 'clear indicator' of Indian team moving on from senior pacer, says ex-India assistant coach

Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar feels the current Indian team management and selectors have decided to move on from senior pacer Mohammed Shami after ignoring him for recent assignments as well as the upcoming Test series against South Africa.

Shami, who has collected more than 400 wickets for India including 229 in Tests, has not represented his country since the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year, with Mohammed Siraj establishing himself as Jasprit Bumrah’s new-ball partner since then. The emergence of younger pacers such as Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana have also made it difficult for Shami to hold on to his spot in the Indian attack.

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The 35-year-old Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer failed to impress the Ajit Agarkar-led selectors despite collecting 15 wickets for Bengal in their first three matches of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season at an average of 15.53, his stellar performance also dispelling doubts over his fitness.

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The selectors, instead, named Akash – a bowler in Shami’s mould who had been left out of the squad for the West Indies Tests due to an injury – in the 15-man squad for the South Africa Tests.

“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,” Nayar, recently appointed head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, said on Star Sports.

“But Akash 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.

“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.

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Shami has not represented India in Test cricket since the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval, which the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team had lost by 209 runs. The senior pacer had played a key role in helping the Men in Blue reach the final of the 2023 ICC World Cup at home, finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets at a stunning average of 10.70 – despite being benched for India’s first four games in the group stage.

Shami, however, had suffered an ankle injury towards the end of the tournament and had to later undergo a surgery that caused him to remain sidelined from all forms of the game for a year, allowing other bowlers to establish themselves in the Indian team in his absence.