A CROP of young pacers will form India’s bowling unit in the two Tests against New Zealand next month. The national selectors have gone for a mix of youth and experience for the challenging campaign and at the same time sprung a surprise by including veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the Twenty20 series. The return of Bhuvneshwar has stirred a debate over the snub to another veteran Mohd Shami in the Test team despite impressive performances in domestic cricket. Though the bowler looks unperturbed with the decision, a question mark hangs over Shami’s international career. Shami’s inclusion for the New Zealand tour looked a real possibility as his bowling style suits perfectly to the Kiwi conditions. His ability to use lengths for extra bounce and his skidders could have come really handy on the New Zealand pitches. The Bengal bowler had a good season under his belt followed by good outing in the Duleep Trophy and first game of this Ranji Trophy season.

 

Hopes of his return rose considerably after the selector picked Bhuvneshwar on the basis of his fantastic performance in previous Indian Premier League (IPL) season. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India went with another criteria for Shami. Numbers tell the exact story of how Shami has performed in domestic tournaments. During the 2025-26 Ranji season, the 36-year-old took 37 wickets in seven games for Bengal at an impressive average of 16.72. This year, playing for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, he picked seven wickets in three matches helping his team to win the title. This season, in the opener against Delhi, Shami picked five wickets in the game. The numbers prove that the pacer’s wicket-taking ability is intact. However, the selectors seem not too happy with only wickets. Reports suggest that the selectors were not convinced with Shami’s fitness and stamina to bowl longer spells. Doubts were reportedly raised on the bowler’s ability to sustain the workload in longer formats.

 

The team management and selector seem still unconvinced with Shami’s full fitness despite his strong domestic performances. In many games, Shami carried the team’s bowling on his shoulders with marathon spells. Yet, the team management has decided to ignore these facts, raising doubts over the actual reason behind Shami’s snub. The fitness assessment has not come from official BCCI channel. The Board has not put Shami through the rigours at the Centre of Excellence to take a call on his fitness.

 

He has continued to play for Bengal in the longer format. But none of these considerations factored in the selectors’ decision. Former players and selectors are also baffled by the call. Ex-chief selector MSK Prasad felt Shami should have been automatic choice for the New Zealand tour considering his past performances. Former bowling coach Bharat Arun has also advocated for Shami’s return to the national squad based on current form rather than being asked to re-establish his credentials. The pacer has nothing left to prove himself. He deserves a last chance to fail, if not succeed in the international arena.