“Waiting for my opportunity”: Mohammed Shami breaks silence on missing India’s New Zealand tour

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the 15-member squad for its much-anticipated two-match Test series against New Zealand in November. And again, the premier and veteran pacer, Mohammed Shami, hasn’t been recalled despite his continuous performance in the domestic red-ball tournament. 

Shami’s last fixture for the Indian side came in the T20I clash against England in February 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, while his last Test match was the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia at the Kennington Oval in South London.

What did Mohammed Shami say after being left out?

Mohammed Shami, who recently played the Ranji Trophy opening round against Delhi for the Bengal side and picked up five wickets across the two innings with the best bowling figures of 4/30 in the first, revealed that he had been waiting for his opportunity to make a strong return to the Indian side. 

“It depends on the selectors whether they give me a chance or not. As far as fitness is concerned, after playing my Test match, I went on to play in the Duleep Trophy. Now, I'm just waiting for my opportunity.” Shami expressed on India Today.

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“You can see my fitness. Write it. You are watching me. What will happen if I say it? I am on the ground. I am playing. I am playing wherever I can. My job is to just keep bowling.” He addressed.

Shami has collected 229 wickets in 122 innings of the Test format for India at an average of 27.71 with six five-wicket hauls, while the pacer has claimed 389 wickets in 190 innings of the FC cricket at 26.09.

India’s squad for the New Zealand tour 2026

Rishabh Pant has remained a doubt for the Test series as he suffered a side strain during the recent Irani Cup 2026 while he was leading the Rest of India against the Jammu and Kashmir side.

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In the pace department, Jasprit Bumrah will be the leader of the pack along with Mohammed Siraj, while Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy would be part of the department.

India’s squad for the New Zealand Test series 2026-

Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper) *, Dhruv Jurel (wk.), Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj