Indian cricket team's veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami has decided to retire from Test cricket. Shami has given this information by posting a video on social media on Friday. While sharing the video, Shami first wished everyone a happy Diwali. In the caption of the video, he wrote about his retirement from red ball cricket. Shami wrote, 'I am bidding farewell to the white jersey but never to the memories associated with it.'
13 years ago on 6 November, he made his Test debut against West Indies and left the Test on the same day. However, Shami made it clear that he will continue to play white ball formats including IPL and domestic cricket. Now his 12-year career has come to an end, in which he took 229 wickets in 64 matches.
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What did Mohammed Shami say?
Sharing a video on social media, Shami wrote, 'I am leaving the white jersey, but the memories associated with it will always be with me. When I wore India's Test jersey for the first time, I had only one dream, to do something for my country. From then till now, every wicket, every struggle, every injury and every comeback has taught me something or the other. For me, Test cricket is not just a format, but it has been a very special part of my life.
Shami further wrote, 'Today, with a heavy heart and countless beautiful memories, I have decided to retire from Test cricket. Heartfelt thanks to all my teammates, coaches, family members and those crores of Indians who stood by me in this journey and kept faith in me through good and bad times.
Thanking BCCI and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), he said, 'They believed in my talent, gave me opportunities to grow and played an important role in my cricket journey. Your support and trust will always be special to me. Even though my last Test ball has been bowled on the field, the pride of playing for India will always be alive in my heart.
Mohammed Shami's test career
Mohammed Shami played his first Test against West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 6 November 2013. He took a total of 9 wickets in the debut match itself. After this, he was successful in taking 5 or more wickets in an innings 6 times. His best performance in an innings was taking 6 wickets for 56 runs. In terms of total Test wickets, he ranked 12th among India's bowlers and sixth among fast bowlers.
Mohammed Shami finished his Test career with 64 matches. Bowling in 122 innings of these matches, he took 229 wickets at an average of 27.71, in which the match best figure was 9/118. Apart from this, Shami took 'five wicket haul' 6 times.
His ability to seam and swing both the new and old balls made him an integral part of the Indian fast bowling attack in all conditions. He took 131 wickets at an average of less than 25 in 35 Test matches played in South Africa, West Indies and India.
Some of his most memorable performances came in South Africa. On the 2018 South Africa tour, he took 5 wickets for 28 runs in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test, helping the Indian team to victory.
After this, when the Indian team again went on South Africa tour, he took 8 wickets in the first Test match played in Centurion. Shami's last Test match was against Australia at Lord's in the final of the 2023 World Test Championship. After this, his career was interrupted due to injuries, but he remained an important part of India's white-ball setup.
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Had to face some controversies also
During this period, Mohammed Shami also had to face some controversies. Mohammed Shami did not play any Test match after playing the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June 2023. Even after Gautam Gambhir became the coach, he did not get a place in the Test team. Despite performing well for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, he was not selected for the New Zealand tour. During this, Shami had expressed his displeasure over the questions being raised regarding his fitness and selection in the team.
Apart from this, Mohammed Shami's personal life and legal controversies also came to light, in the year 2018, Shami's wife Hasin Jahan accused him of domestic violence, dowry harassment and sexual harassment. Kolkata Police had filed a charge sheet in this case in 2019. Shami had rejected these allegations.
Apart from this, in October 2026, Shami had expressed his displeasure in the media for unnecessarily linking his name with controversies. He had said that news is made about him without any reason and his personal life should also be respected.