Explained: Why India included Mohammed Shami for England T20s despite pacer not being a regular in the format

Team India ended the suspense surrounding Mohammed Shami’s return to the Indian cricket team on Saturday, with the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee including the senior pacer in the squad for the five-match T20I series against England that gets underway later this month. The 34-year-old was expected to feature in India’s defence of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, which ended in a 3-1 series loss for the visitors exactly a week ago, after remaining sidelined for more than a year due to an ankle injury.

A swollen knee, however, forced him to miss the flight to Australia, and it’s only after playing a number of domestic fixtures across formats and getting the green signal from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) that has allowed the Bengal quick to return to the Indian team.

There were a number of other talking points in the Suryakumar Yadav-led T20I squad announced on Saturday – from Sanju Samson being preferred as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter over Rishabh Pant with Dhruv Jurel named his backup to all-rounder Axar Patel being named vice-captain.

Shami’s inclusion, however, remains the biggest talking point of them all, given the amount of time that has passed since he lit up the 2023 ODI World Cup and finished as the leading wicket-taker despite missing the initial games.

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The Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer, however, hasn’t been a regular in the shortest format for India even if he has been a consistent wicket-taker in the IPL in recent years. Since making his T20I debut against arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2014 T20 World Cup, Shami has made just 23 appearances in the format for the Men in Blue, collecting 24 wickets at an average of 29.62.

So why then was Shami considered for the five-match T20I series against England that begins on 22 January in Kolkata?

Why did the selectors pick Mohammed Shami for England T20Is?

Despite not representing India in the 20-over game since the 10-wicket thrashing against England in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup, Shami remains an asset for the Indian team across formats. Shami has been among, or close to, the top-five wicket-takers in an IPL season since 2019 and was the leading wicket-taker in 2023 with a staggering 28 wickets at an average of 18.64.

These numbers highlight the fact that Shami can easily walk into the T20I side and bowl alongside Jasprit Bumrah, and would have featured in the T20 World Cup campaign last year had it not been for his ankle injury. The team management, however, chooses to rest key players for T20Is, including and especially pace assets such as Bumrah, Shami and Mohammed Siraj, picking them only for major events such as a World Cup or an Asia Cup, if it’s played in the T20 format.

Under normal circumstances, Shami would not have been included for the upcoming T20I series against England. However, the Bengal pacer has not been exposed to the rigours of international cricket for more than a year now, and the selectors and team management would want to be careful with his workload before taking a call on his participation in ODIs.

Shami isn’t expected to play all five T20Is, and might be rested for the last one or two games, unless the series is still on the line at that point. And if he doesn’t show any discomfort in bowling four overs during the course of the series, picking Shami for the 50-over assignments would then become a simple formality.

With Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the Champions Trophy looking increasingly uncertain due to a back spasm that he had suffered during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney, the Men in Blue will be praying for a fully-fit Shami to lead their attack in the mega event.