The 36-year-old has been in blistering form in domestic cricket over the past year or so and picked up five wickets for Bengal in their Ranji Trophy season opener against Delhi earlier this week. Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami ‘s omission from the upcoming tour of New Zealand, especially from the two-match Test series, has raised eyebrows in the Indian cricket fraternity. However, Shami was overlooked by the selectors once again, with the likes of Anshul Kamboj and Akash Deep getting the nod ahead of the veteran.
He won the match single-handedly for us in Dharamshala against them in the 2023 ODI World Cup, and you can add the semi-final at the Wankhede as well.
I am telling you this, if you tell New Zealand batters that Mohammed Shami is not coming, they will be breathing a sigh of relief as we speak,” said Kaif. “Go and ask the New Zealand batters about who they would not want to face. The first bowler that they will name is Mohammed Shami.
Had Mohammed Shami not been there in the 2023 World Cup, India would not have reached the World Cup final,” Kaif said during a discussion on Cricbuzz .
These days, nobody says anything directly. Speaking on Shami’s omission from the team, former India batter Mohammad Kaif called for transparency in the selection process, suggesting that someone from the BCCI should address the reason behind his continuous absence from the team. “I’ve heard things like that somewhere (that the selectors have moved on from him). When a team is selected, all you get is a letter informing you that the team has been finalized. That’s it. You can check your email. There are no public statements, no question-and-answer sessions. No selector or BCCI official comes forward to explain the reasons behind a decision. There has to be transparency. Now, if we talk about Mohammed Shami, he is a proven World Cup performer.
