Experienced and star fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who is looking for a comeback in Team India, has once again had to face the indifference of the selectors. Forget Shami’s inclusion in the Indian team announced for the one-off Test and three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, his name was not even discussed in the selection committee meeting. Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has got angry over this decision of Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and his argument. Taking Agarkar to task, he termed his statement as complete ‘nonsense’ and ‘insulting’ towards Shami. Why did Jafar get angry at Ajit Agarkar’s argument? While announcing Team India for the Afghanistan series, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had given a strange reason for not selecting Mohammed Shami in the press conference. Agarkar had said, "I know he has played domestic cricket this year, but as per the reports and information I am getting at the moment, he is only fit and ready to play T20 cricket. Therefore there was no discussion on his name in the selection meeting."
Wasim Jafar did not like this argument at all. During a conversation on his YouTube channel, while citing Ajit Agarkar’s class, he said:
"This is absolutely nonsense. We are talking about Mohammed Shami here, not about any random player. This is extremely disrespectful towards a player of Mohammed Shami’s class. This boy has been performing consistently in domestic cricket and you are saying that he is fit only for T20? This is just an excuse. If you had not considered them, you should have clearly said that we have dropped or ignored them. This would have been a true and honest statement."
‘Single-handedly took Bengal to the semi-finals in Ranji’ Jaffer, citing Shami’s match fitness, further said that Shami has recently proved his rhythm and fitness in red ball cricket. He said, "He has just come into the Ranji Trophy by single-handedly taking Bengal to the semi-finals with the help of his sharp bowling. In such a situation, to say that he is not fit for the longer format is beyond comprehension."
‘Could Jasprit have treated Bumrah in the same way?’ Making the sharpest attack on Ajit Agarkar’s selection policy, Wasim Jaffer put forward the example of Team India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Jafar asked the question:
"What if Jasprit Bumrah gets injured and then makes a comeback? Would you (Agarkar) have treated Bumrah in the same manner? Don’t we even discuss his name? Mohammed Shami is also a bowler of the same bracket and level in international cricket. If you ask any international batsman in the world, they will keep Shami on the top of their list. This is absolutely disrespectful towards the outstanding services he has rendered to India."
The path of comeback is becoming difficult for Shami. 35-year-old fast bowler Mohammed Shami played his last match for India in the Champions Trophy last year. Since then he has been out of the national team. To return to Team India, Shami turned to domestic cricket and proved his edge and fitness by performing brilliantly in Ranji Trophy to Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. However, seeing this continuous neglectful attitude of the selectors, speculations are being made in the cricket circles whether Shami’s international career is now nearing its end? At this stage of age, it is becoming a very difficult challenge for him to return to the Indian jersey in any format.
Comments are closed.