Out of favour India cricket team pacer Mohammed Shami’s coach Badaruddin Siddiqui has come down hard on the selectors for constantly ignoring the pacer despite consistent performances in domestic cricket. The Bengal pacer registered his career best figures of 8/90 in the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 semi-final against Jammu and Kashmir, single-handedly rattling the opposition. The pacer’s coach has hit out at Ajit Agarkar and co. for leaving out a bowler with caliber such as Shami and said that fitness was surely not an issue.
‘Fitness not an issue for sure’
Speaking to The Indian Express, Shami’s coach claimed that the selectors seem to have forgotten abut Shami. He said that while it was tough for both the bowler and him, the former couldn’t do anything else but keep performing while waiting for his recall to the Indian team. Badaruddin pointed out that Shami had taken 8 wickets and had also bowled over 20 overs and said that fitness was surely not an issue for the pacer.
“Mujhe bhi wohi lagta hai ke selectors ab usse bhool gaye hain (I feel the selectors have forgotten about him). It’s tough for him. It’s tough for me as well. He hasn’t made it back to the Indian team despite performance. He doesn’t have any other option and he has to keep performing and wait. What else can I say? Even today he took 8 wickets and bowled more than 20 overs so fitness is not the issue for sure,” Shami’s coach said.
At the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani, Shami produced a performance that would make every Indian fan proud. His figures of 8/90 in 22.1 overs are the best of his first-class career. It powered Bengal to a 26-run first-innings lead over Jammu and Kashmir in the semi-final.
Shami’s coach further said that it did not make sense for the selectors to keep Shami out of the Indian team, especially when they did not find a bowler like him. Dubbing the pacer as a master of red-ball, he slammed them for constantly snubbing Shami even as they lost series at home.
“I also think that we don’t have a bowler like him in the Indian team yet. If we get a bowler like him, I can understand. We are losing Test matches at home. Even after that, they are making a bowler like Shami, a master of the red-ball, sit out,” Badruddin said.
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