‘What the selection committee has done is shameful’ - Bengal coach blasts Agarkar over ignoring Shami from ODI squad

Former India cricketer and current Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla has criticized the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar for not including Mohammed Shami in the Indian squad for the ODIs against New Zealand. The team for a three-match ODI series was announced on Saturday, January 3. Surprisingly, Shami’s name was missing yet again despite his consistent performances in domestic cricket this season.

Now, Shukla did not mince words, reacting to the continued snubbing of Shami. While backing the bowler, Shukla said that whatever is happening with the right-arm pacer is very shameful, despite his impressive outings in the domestic circuit in the ongoing season. Shukla thinks the experienced pacer has contributed significantly to domestic cricket compared to other international stars and deserves better recognition.

“The selection committee has done an injustice with Mohammed Shami. No international player has played domestic cricket with as much dedication as Shami in the recent past. Even after toiling hard in domestic cricket, what the selection committee has done with Shami is shameful”, Shukla was quoted as saying by Revsportz.

The Amroha-born has been playing domestic cricket continuously after his snub from the Indian side after the Champions Trophy, despite being the joint-highest wicket-taker for the side in the triumphant campaign. And has backed that up by performing brilliantly in domestic cricket. In the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025, he has picked up 11 wickets in just 5 matches with an impressive average of 22.27.

Even in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025, the 35-year-old returned with the impressive figures of 16 wickets in just seven matches. Despite these remarkable performances, it appears that the selectors are in a mood to move on from Shami, and want to build a team for the future. This makes the situation interesting to see whether Shami can play for India ever again.

The Indian team is all set to face New Zealand in a three-match ODI series, starting from January 11. Apart from Shami, star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad found himself dropped from the squad despite his stellar century against South Africa, as the vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is set to return to the reacting positively to the recovery of his spleen injury. Meanwhile, the experienced duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, too, has been rested.

India ODI squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj