Mohammed Shami may not be picked for Team India’s England tour, starting on June 20. With only a few days left before the Board of Control for Cricket in India announces the India squad for the five-Test series, the BCCI medical team has told the board that Shami won’t be able to bowl long spells, Indian Express reported.
The medical team has reportedly suggested that the 34-year-old may not be fit to play all five matches. There were discussions about including him in a few games, but the Jasprit Bumrah factor was also under consideration.
Jasprit Bumrah has also informed the board he can play only three Tests. Selectors are now unsure about taking two bowlers with fitness concerns, the publication added. The team is likely to prefer fully-fit pacers who can handle long spells.
“Shami is bowling four overs in IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad but the board and selectors don’t know whether he can bowl more than 10 overs in a day. Test matches in England may demand longer spells from the pacers and we can’t take chances,” Indian Express quoted a BCCI insider as saying.
Shami has taken only six wickets in nine IPL 2025 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad and has struggled with economy (11.23). However, with SRH out of the playoffs, he has already started practising with the red Dukes ball, which is used in England.
Cricket veterans bat for Shami
Meanwhile, former selectors MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi, Jatin Paranjpe, and Gagan Khoda believe Mohammed Shami must be part of India’s Test squad for the England tour.
All four selectors’ probable teams show strong agreement on core players. Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah (as captain), Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh appear in every squad.
They all include promising youngsters like Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Reddy and Dhruv Jurel.
Gagan Khoda wants KL Rahul to be the captain. It’s a unique choice since all others want Bumrah. Also, MSK and Gagan give Gill the vice-captain role while Devang Gandhi chose Rishabh Pant.
Jatin Paranjpe and Khoda added Shardul Thakur as an all-rounder. Paranjpe is the only one to include Sarfaraz Khan while Shreyas Iyer was chosen by Gandhi and Paranjpe.
Khoda is the only one to pick Karun Nair while Prasad includes Washington Sundar.
