In the India squads named on Wednesday for the series against West Indies, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami could not find a place. Bhuvneshwar took 28 wickets for IPL 2026 champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru. On the other hand, Shami, who last played for India in 2025, has been performing well regularly at the domestic level. Former India star Aakash Chopra says the time may be up for Bhuvneshwar and Mohammed Shami as far as their international ambitions go. “So I think the writing is on the wall when you look at things from Shami and Bhuvi’s perspective. From the T20I perspective, you could have thought about Bhuvi. From the ODI perspective, you could have thought about Mohammed Shami. But you are not thinking about them,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“And with so many teams, so much overlap, so many new players getting opportunities, Auqib Nabi being named in the ODI team, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav coming into the T20I setup, and neither Bhuvi nor Shami being there, I think it tells us something. This is probably something we need to accept, make peace with, and keep moving on. That’s what I think.”
Meanwhile, India’s veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami reflected on his recent accomplishment of competing in 100 first-class matches during the Duleep Trophy 2026 final for East Zone.
Shami, who has been out of the Indian team for quite some time now, called playing 100 matches “always special” and highlighted that his hunger remains the same as before.
“100th match is always special, whether you score a hundred and raise your bat for the first time or you play in 100 matches, it is a very long journey, a long sacrifice and a goal of your life,” Shami said in a video shared by BCCI Domestic.
“It’s a dream to play 100 first-class matches, make your state proud, play matches in different places, in different conditions and pick wickets; it’s a big thing, it’s a dream,” he added.
Shami’s 100th first-class game coincided with East Zone playing the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, and East Zone went on to beat them. Shami was 21 when East Zone won their maiden Duleep Trophy title in 2012, and he was a vital cog in their third title 14 years later.
