Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday (September 10) asserted that Mohammad Shami is not being neglected by the selectors, calling the veteran pacer an absolute champion who has already played a lot of cricket.
Shami has been out of the national side since the 2005 Champions Trophy. Despite toiling hard and proving his fitness in domestic cricket, he has failed to earn India recall.
The 36-year-old recently helped East Zone secure the Duleep Trophy title against South Zone on the basis of a first-innings lead in Chennai.
“What makes me happy for Shami is that he turns out day in and day out in domestic cricket and performs. It is terrific to see. He has achieved so much," Ganguly told reporters in Kolkata.
Ganguly noted it is too early to predict Shami's chances of making a comeback for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
“That's a long way. I can't comment. It's in October (next year). It's a long way," he stated.
Drawing from his own career, Ganguly stated that being left out of national plans is normal for older players.
“He is not being neglected. He has played a lot. He is an absolute champion. But as you grow older, this happens. When I got left out from World Cup one-day cricket for a year, after scoring 10,000 runs, I found my way to come back. So this happens with everyone,” Ganguly remarked.
The CAB president also congratulated the East Zone side for winning the Duleep Trophy after 13 years. He showered rich praise on East Zone skipper Ishan Kishan for playing a monumental knock of 270 runs in the Duleep Trophy final and hoped for his return to the Indian Test squad.
“I spoke to Kishan this afternoon. It's terrific and remarkable. Every young player wants to play Test cricket, and hopefully he will. He played exceptionally well in all the finals of the Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq Ali, and Duleep Trophy,” Ganguly said.
“If he performs, I think for every young player Test cricket should be important. They must want to play Test cricket and hopefully he will. He gets runs in big matches.... Vijay Hazare final, Mushtaq final, Duleep Trophy final,” he added.
Since his last Test appearance for Team India back in July 2023 against the West Indies, Kishan’s national red-ball prospects have faced significant scrutiny. Ganguly's public endorsement strongly reinforces that this heavy run-scoring campaign serves as a timely transformation, putting him right back in contention for India A and senior Test side selections.
(With PTI Inputs)
