Indian cricket team's veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami has announced his retirement from Test cricket. Shami informed about his decision by posting a video on social media late night on 6th November. However, he will continue to play in ODI and T20 cricket and is hopeful of returning to Team India for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Tezzbuzz Desk – 36-year-old Mohammed Shami said in his retirement post that Test cricket is not just a format for him, but has been a very special part of his life. Bidding farewell to the white jersey, he said that the memories associated with it will always remain with him.
Shami also thanked Team India, fans, BCCI and Cricket Association of Bengal for his brilliant Test career. He expressed his gratitude to his teammates, coaches, family and crores of Indian fans who supported him in his journey.
Showed his bowling prowess in the debut test itself
Shami, a resident of Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, made his mark while playing for the Bengal cricket team and made his debut in the Indian Test team in 2013. His Test debut was against West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
In that match, Shami took 4 wickets in the first innings and 5 wickets in the second innings. India won this match by an innings. In the same match, Rohit Sharma also made his Test debut and scored a brilliant century.
In Test cricket, Shami played an important role in taking Indian fast bowling to new heights. Along with Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, he contributed to making the Indian Test team's fast bowling attack one of the most dangerous attacks in the world in the last decade.
During this period, India won the Test series in Australia and also achieved success in many Test matches in England and South Africa.
Mohammed Shami played a total of 64 test matches for India and took 229 wickets. He achieved the feat of taking five wickets in an innings 6 times. His bowling average in Test cricket was 27.71 and strike rate was 50.
Shami's best performance came against Australia in the 2018 Perth Test, where he took 6 wickets for 56 runs in the second innings. In Australia, South Africa and India, he took five wickets in an innings twice each.
WTC 2023 final was the last test
The final of the World Test Championship 2023 was Shami's last Test match for India. After this he remained out of the Test team and for the last several months there was speculation about his return in all formats.
Now Shami has ended this chapter of his career by retiring from Test cricket.
Shami has currently retired only from Test cricket. He will continue to play ODI and T20 cricket. In ODI, he played his last match for India in the Champions Trophy 2025.
Now his eyes will be on the ODI World Cup to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in 2027. Shami will try to return to Team India and be a part of this big tournament.