On February 26, 2026, a political storm erupted in Maharashtra when AIMIM MLA Mufti Ismail and SP leader Abu Azmi alleged religious discrimination in the exclusion of pacers Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj from India’s T20 World Cup 2026 playing XI. Ismail claimed that Muslims were being sidelined on the field, and linked the absence of both to India’s 76-run defeat (SA 187/7, Ind 111) in the Super 8 to South Africa on 22 February. Azmi also said the same, and accused the BJP government of discriminating in cricket.
However, fact-checking found no evidence of religious discrimination. Shami, 35, was not selected in the initial squad announced in December 2025 due to his long recovery from injury (heel surgery after the 2023 ODI WC) and the selectors’ focus on youth for T20s, and workload management was prioritized ahead of the 2027 ODI WC. He is currently playing Ranji Trophy for Bengal, recently scored a fifty, and may make a comeback in Test/ODI. Siraj was initially overlooked, but replaced the injured Harshit Rana ahead of the tournament. He is in the team, but on turning pitches he was deliberately kept on the bench for spinners like Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.
Opposition leaders rejected these claims. NCP’s Idris Naikwadi said religion has no relevance in sports, citing historical Muslim captains like Azharuddin and Pataudi. Congress’s Amin Patel called these things irresponsible and insisted on selection based on merit. Ruling allies, including Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale and Yuva Swabhiman’s Ravi Rana, demanded an apology, emphasizing the larger role of Muslims in cricket and governance. AIMIM’s Dr. Shoaib Jamai also made similar allegations against coach Gautam Gambhir, but experts like Nikhil Sharma focused on Shami’s injury and Siraj not being given preference in T20.
India team: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dubey, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakraborty, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh. Without a loss in Group A (wins against USA, Namibia, Pakistan, Netherlands), India will now play a do-or-die encounter against Zimbabwe (February 26) and WI (March 1) in Super 8 Group 1, with semi-final hopes alive. This controversy reflects the identity politics in sports, but selections seem to be decided on form, fitness and strategy.
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