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Following the announcement of the Indian squad for the England Test series, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed the reason for exclusion the right-arm speedster Mohammed Shami from the squad for the upcoming Test series.
Right-hand batter Shubman Gill has been appointed as the new Test captain for India. At the same time, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will serve as his deputy in the longest format, as the BCCI announced the squad for the highly anticipated five-match Test series against England on Saturday. In the bowling department, right-arm seamer Jasprit Bumrah will be leading the unit on England soil. Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Shardul Thakur are the other fast bowlers in the squad. Speaking at the press conference about Shami's exclusion, Ajit Agarkar said, "The medical guys have told us that he has been ruled out of this series. He has been trying to be fit for the series, but he had a setback over the last week, and he has had some MRIs done. I don't think he was going to be able to play five tests. We were hoping he would be available for at least some part of the series, but if he is not fit at the moment, it will be very difficult to keep waiting. It is unfortunate. We always want to pick a bowler like him." Meanwhile, Shami stayed away from the on-field action for over a year due to an ankle injury. Shami recovered successfully from the ankle surgery in February 2024 but started suffering pain in his right knee, for which he has been seeking treatment. Last year returned to the domestic circuit and featured in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal. With his experience, the fast bowler enjoyed a fruitful outing and returned with seven scalps against Madhya Pradesh last year. Rumour mill suggested his return during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia; however, the series went by, and there were no signs of him. The 34-year-old was assigned to bowl with the new ball for India across formats in 2025. He represented the nation in the title-winning Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year and ended the campaign as the joint second-highest wicket-taker. Shami has represented India in 64 Tests and scalped 229 wickets at an average of 27.1, boasting six five-wicket hauls. Even for Hyderabad in IPL 2025, Shami has six wickets at an average of 56.16 and an economy rate of 11.23 in 13 group-stage fixtures. If the selectors opt to go against picking Shami, there are other prospects that they can look up to. The Indian cricket team is set to tour England in 2025 for a five-match Test series, part of the 2025-2027 ICC World Test Championship. The series will take place from June to August 2025, with matches at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London). This will be India's first bilateral series since both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirement from Test cricket earlier this month. India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav. (ANI)
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