36-year-old Shami has not been able to return to the Indian team since the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March 2025. He initially stayed away from cricket due to injury, but after becoming fit, despite his performance in domestic cricket and IPL 2026, the selectors did not give him a chance.
Example given of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s selection
BCCI has included experienced fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the T-20 International team for the New Zealand tour. 36-year-old Bhuvneshwar performed brilliantly in IPL 2026, after which he got a place in the team. Ravi Shastri welcomed his selection and said that there is no substitute for experience.
Shastri said while talking to Times of India – There is no substitute for experience. It is an easy decision to choose a bowler of quality and experience like Bhuvneshwar. Given his performances in the IPL and his experience of playing for India, he will be ideal for New Zealand conditions. Shastri said that Shami has performed adequately with both the red and white balls. He should be recalled to the Test and ODI team.
Five fast bowlers get a chance in the test team
Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj have returned to the Indian team for the Test series against New Zealand. Apart from these, Mohammad Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are also part of the fast bowling department. In this way the team includes five fast bowlers. Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi, who were part of India’s last Test against Sri Lanka, have not got a place in the Test team this time.
Shami did not get a place even in the ODI team
Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh have been selected for the first three ODIs against New Zealand. Prasidh Krishna’s selection will depend on fitness. Auqib Nabi and Yash Thakur have been included in the team for the last two ODI matches. These two will replace Prasidh Krishna and Anshul Kamboj. Despite Shami’s consistently good performance, questions remain over his international comeback as he did not get a place in the team. Now it remains to be seen how much importance the selectors give to his experience and performance for the upcoming series or next tournament.