Discarded Indian pacer Mohammed Shami, who last played for India way back in 2025, has stated that he was not concerned by Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s selection, adding that his complete focus is on the Ranji Trophy fixture against Delhi.
Notably, Shami has been named in Bengal’s squad for the Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season. Speaking to reporters ahead of the opening match against Delhi, Shami also asserted that it would be the country’s loss if he never gets to play for India again.
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the chance to play for India, and that’s good for him. But his selection doesn’t concern me. Wherever I get the chance to play, I will give my best. Right now, my focus is firmly on this Ranji match. The same thing has been happening with me for the last two or three years. I have been performing and have proved my fitness for Bengal. If I don’t get the chance to play for India again, it’s not my loss,” Shami said as quoted by RevSportz.
Shami recently featured for the East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026 campaign was, picking up seven scalps from three games at an average of 26.57. He last featured for the national team in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai.
On the other hand, the veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who last played for India in a T20I in November 2022, returned to the Indian squad after nearly four years for the forthcoming T20I tour of New Zealand.
Bengal squad for Ranji Trophy 2026-27:
Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Sudip Kumar Gharami (VC), Sudip Chatterjee, Abhishek Porel (WK), Ankur Paul, Sumanta Gupta, Ankit Shukla, Subham Chatterjee, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Pradipta Pramanik, Aamir Gani, Md. Kaif, Soummyadip Mandal
Stand-bys: Karan Lal, Akhilesh Yadav, Geet Puri, Abhishek KR Raman, Subham Sarkar, Sumit Mohanta, Aditya Purohit.
