In a great shock to the fans, India’s famous fast-bowling trio from the World Cup 2023 of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami haven’t played a single game for India together since the World Cup 2023 final against Australia in Ahmedabad.
This has been a function of multiple reasons: Shami was laid low for over a year after the 2023 World Cup final due to an ankle injury, while Bumrah and Siraj were rested and injured at various points in the last three years.
However, the calls from fans and experts to reunite the trio have taken a steady weight in recent days following the disappointing performance of India’s bowlers in the ODI series against England, which India lost 2-1.
In the 3rd ODI at Lord’s, India conceded 387 runs as experienced bowlers Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh and inexperienced seamers Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar all were smoked around.
This series loss was a huge dent to India’s confidence as they prepare for the 2027 World Cup, which will be held in October-November in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
This was India’s second ODI series loss this year. In January, New Zealand beat India 2-1 in a famous, historic, come-from-behind series victory, registering their maiden ODI series triumph in India.
Under Gambhir, India had also conceded a series defeat in Sri Lanka a couple of years ago. The pressure is mounting on the head coach, and questions about the exclusion of Mohammed Shami in particular have been raised regularly.
Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has given his opinion on Shami and Siraj’s omission from the ODI setup.
When was the last time Mohammed Shami played for India?
Shami’s last match for India was the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in February 2025 in Dubai. He was surprisingly not picked for any format by the BCCI selectors after the Champions Trophy despite impressive performances in domestic cricket and the IPL.
Meanwhile, Siraj was dropped from the white-ball teams in 2024/25 but made a comeback this year and participated in the T20 World Cup as Harshit Rana’s replacement.
He was picked in the initial squad for the T20Is in Ireland and England but was later ruled out due to injury. Siraj was expected to be picked for the ODI series against England as well but hadn’t recovered in time.
Door is not closed on Shami, Siraj: Zaheer Khan
Meanwhile, Zaheer believes that the Siraj-Shami duo is not a priority of the selectors, but he reckons the two senior fast bowlers could return to the scheme of things.
Zaheer said on Cricbuzz: “The thought process is different. I feel that when a new player is given a chance, sometimes the senior players are given a break. I don’t know how they have been communicated to Siraj and Shami. But as a player, you should always be ready and control the controllables.”
“They might not be their [selectors] priority. But it’s not like the door is closed for you. I don’t think it’s like that. And if it’s not like that, it means you are in the scheme of things. There is no doubt about that. Yes, you should continue doing the rest of the things that are in your hands.”
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.
