Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has highlighted that Mohammed Shami is unlikely to return to Indian team for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. On Tuesday, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was added to India’s T20I squad for the series against New Zealand and many pundits feel it is going to open the selection window for Mohammed Shami after Ajit Agarkar’s exit.
However, Chopra revealed that he had a word with the selectors and Shami is not part of their future plans. Shami recently scalped seven wickets in the Duleep Trophy for East Zone and also picked 37 wickets in the previous season of the Ranji Trophy.
“If Bhuvi has come, will Shami also come? Many people are saying that Bhuvi came as soon as Ajit left, and that Shami would also come. I think we will be fooling ourselves if we feel that one guy was stopping everyone, that only he was resisting and everyone else wanted to pick them,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“It cannot be like that. It is not possible because it is a five-member selection committee, and I can actually vouch that I have spoken to the selectors, and all of them are on the same page. So, it’s not like the chairman randomly said it and everyone was agreeing,” he added.
Chopra said all the five selectors are involved in selection and one selector can not be a dictator.
The former opener added that New Zealand tour might be the last opportunity for Shami to get back into the Indian team.
“There are discussions that Shami’s name might come in the ODI team. I am not saying that it cannot come, but will it come because of Ajit Agarkar leaving? That I don’t agree. However, the big thing is that this is your last opportunity if you are looking at the 2027 World Cup because when after this? Will it be against Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe, and then BGT, which he might not play, and then the IPL?” he said.
Shami has been picked in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy team.
