Shami’s last Test appearance was even further back during the World Test Championship final against Australia at the Oval in 2023.
Mohammed Shami has not played for India since March 2025 but the veteran pacer on Thursday asserted that his motivation level has not dipped, and is still eyeing the “next level” in his career. No matter what stage you’re playing at, your eyes must always be set on the next level,” Shami said after the Duleep Trophy final in which East Zone defeated South Zone on the basis of first innings lead. “There are plenty of reasons to stay motivated if you look for them. At this level, if you aren’t self-motivated, your approach is wrong.
East Zone has won this after a very long time.
As for me, whether it’s your first match or your 100th, it doesn’t matter-the effort and the approach remain exactly the same,” he said. “As far as satisfaction goes, achieving this in my 100th match-and that too in a winning Duleep Trophy final-is special. You’ve seen how we performed. “Every single boy put his heart and soul into this campaign to get us here. To achieve this in these conditions, in this heat, is outstanding.
It helped East wrap their rival’s first innings for 336 and gain a match-defining lead of 372 runs. Shami was delighted that East Zone’s title win coincided with his 100th first-class game.
“My mindset is simple: whichever level I get an opportunity to play, I want to make it count and fulfil my responsibility toward the team,” he said. “But yes, when the game gets tight and challenging, that’s when you step in with tactical inputs and remind them to keep fighting,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed it. The kid in our team (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi) is literally as old as my career. He has that youthful innocence, loves to joke around, and absorbs things quickly. Shami cautioned against meddling with young players’ thoughts and game as they come up with a certain level of maturity.
