India’s senior pacer Mohammed Shami has often seen his personal life under public scrutiny in recent years. Shami married Hasin Jahan in 2014, but their relationship turned rocky, leading to their separation beginning in 2018.

Hasin Jahan has repeatedly accused Shami and his family of subjecting her to both physical and mental harassment. She has openly expressed her grievances on social media platforms as well as in various media interviews, keeping the matter in constant limelight.

Most recently, Hasin Jahan went a step further by labeling Shami a “womanizer.” She claimed that the cricketer neglects his own daughter, Ayra, while allegedly showering gifts and attention on the children of his supposed girlfriends. These repeated allegations have once again drawn attention to the troubled marriage, overshadowing Shami’s professional achievements on the cricket field.

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Mohammed Shami Opens Up About His Personal Life:

In a conversation with News 24, Mohammed Shami opened up about his personal life but made it clear that he prefers not to look back on the past. When questioned about whether he regrets his marriage, the Indian pacer responded thoughtfully, choosing his words carefully while addressing the sensitive topic without bitterness or negativity.

He said, “ Leave that. I never regret the past. What's gone is gone. I don't want to blame anyone, including myself. I want to focus on my cricket. I don't need these controversies.”

Mohammed Shami is not the only Indian cricketer who has faced challenges in his married life. Former opener Shikhar Dhawan went through a divorce with Ayesha Mukherjee, while earlier this year, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma also parted ways.

When asked about these situations and the personal struggles faced by cricketers like Dhawan, Chahal, and himself, Shami responded carefully. He acknowledged the difficulties but chose to address the matter with composure, avoiding any harsh or negative remarks.

He further said, “ That's your job to investigate. Why do you want to hang us to death? Look at the other side as well. I focus on cricket, not controversies.”

Mohammed Shami Back to Cricket After Injury Recovery:

Mohammed Shami returned to competitive cricket, representing East Zone in the Duleep Trophy. He made his comeback in Bengaluru against North Zone, bowling 17 overs on the tournament’s opening day. He managed to claim one wicket while conceding 55 runs, showing signs of regaining rhythm after his break.

Before his Duleep Trophy return, Shami’s previous competitive appearance came on May 2 for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. It turned out to be a tough game for the pacer as he failed to take a wicket and gave away 48 runs in just three overs against Gujarat Titans, marking a difficult end to that campaign.

Shami’s 2025 IPL campaign proved underwhelming, with just six wickets across nine games. He also sat out India’s much-anticipated Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test series in England earlier this year and was left out of the Asia Cup squad in September. His last appearance for the national team came during the ICC Champions Trophy in March, marking a lengthy absence.

Mohammed Shami finally gets off to the mark on the first day of the Duleep Trophy 2025 with East Zone as he picks up the wicket of the promising North Zone all-rounder Sahil Lotra. 

Before the drinks break of the East Zone vs. North Zone Duleep Trophy 2025 match, North Zone lost 6 wickets for 290 runs on the scoreboard. East Zone has multiple well-established bowlers in their lineup, including Shami and Mukesh Kumar. Until the break, Kumar remained wicket-less, but Shami was able to get his first wicket of the match. He had to wait patiently for the wicket of Sahil. As of now, the stun pacer has proven to be the most effective weapon for the East Zone team. Sahil Lotra went back to the pavilion after scoring 19 off 48 with one boundary, and then the team had272 runs after 69.4 overs. For the North Zone team, Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Yash Dhull, and Kanhaiya Wadhawan looked promising with their individual batting work. 

Before the match, Shami, in an interview, bowled out the speculations about his retirement. He clearly stated that as long as he enjoys the game, he'll continue. And he claimed himself absolutely fit to play. 

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Shami revealed his future plans 

"You don’t pick me in internationals; I will play domestic. I will keep playing somewhere or other. Retirement and such decisions are made when you start feeling bored, when you don’t want to wake up at 7 am for a test. That’s not the time for me now. "I’ll be up at 5 if you want me to," Shami said during the interview. 

Because of a knee injury in the past, he had to suffer a lot and remained outside the field. The pacer played his last match for India during the Champions Trophy 2025 final. After that, the board did not include Shami in any of their series. But the bowler cleared his intentions very well, through interviews and hard work. He often shared videos on Instagram to show how he has been preparing himself for competitive matches. 

The 2025 season of the Duleep Trophy began on August 26, with the East Zone winning the toss and deciding to field first against North Zone, while on the flip of the coin, the North East Zone won the toss and decided to field against the Central Zone. Several international players for India missed out on the game due to flu and health issues, as Rajat Patidar and Riyan Parag stepped in to lead the sides.

Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh turned up for the North Zone, while Parag, Mohammed Shami, and Mukesh Kumar featured for the East Zone team. On the other hand, Patidar, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Khaleel Ahmed appeared for the Central zone, while for the North-East zone, there was no international player.

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Manishi trapped the number three batter of North, Yash Dhull, for 39 runs to pick all the first three wickets of the innings. Aryan Juyal and Danish Malewar celebrated their respective half-centuries in the contest. Juyal, the 23-year-old, has been with the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants, while Danish got his FC debut last season for Vidarbha.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Round 1: All scores from Day 1

Ayush Badoni smashed a quick-fire fifty. At number four, he smashed 63 runs in 60 balls with the help of seven boundaries before getting caught by Mukhtar Hussain. Malewar, the fifth-leading run-getter of the last Ranji Trophy season, banged a century for Central. Rajat Patidar also notched up his century in just 80 deliveries.

The Bengal pacer, Mohammed Shami, has shown his disappointment at not getting into the Asia Cup T20 squad for the Blue Brigade. Gets into the wickets’ column, with Sahil Lotra getting caught behind for 19 runs in offering Shami his first wicket of the day. He was looking to generate more pace through his spells to get back into the national side.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Round 1: All scores from Day 1

Central Zone- 432/2 (Danish Malewar 198*, Rajat Patidar 125, Pheirohiam Ojha 1/56) vs North East Zone. 

North Zone- 308/6 (Ayush Badoni 63. Nishant Sindhu 47, Manishi 3/90) vs East Zone. 

The star fast bowler of the Indian side, Mohammed Shami, went through a poor 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), as he kept struggling with several injuries under the leadership of Pat Cummins. Getting roped in for INR 10 crore in the mega auction, Shami featured in nine games to pick up six wickets at an average of 56.16.

Shami is uncertain about his future for the IPL in the Orange Army as the franchise could look to refuse the bowling services of the veteran, who has not been picked since the end of the Asia Cup for the national side during the Test series in England, and was omitted from the 15-member squad of the Asia Cup 2025.

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“I’m ready to play for any team that raises the paddle for me (at the auction). There is nothing in my hands. It is IPL, the festival of cricket, and it is entertainment for people. Whoever lifts the paddle for you, go along with them.” The Bengal pacer expressed on News24.

Mohammed Shami drops bombshell on IPL 2026 future for SRH

The best season for the pacer in IPL history came in 2023 when Shami, playing for the Gujarat Titans, picked up 28 wickets in 17 innings at an average of under 19 and an average of 18.3 with an economy rate of eight. He now has a total of 133 scalps in 119 IPL innings at 28.18 with an economy rate of under nine.

In his entire IPL career, Shami has represented five IPL franchises. In IPL 2013, he debuted for the Kolkata Knight Riders before featuring for Delhi Capitals till 2018, where he wasn’t a regular in the side. He featured in three seasons for Punjab and bagged 58 wickets in 42 games for the side.

In the upcoming edition of the event, a few franchises will look for a veteran Indian pacer, and Mohammed Shami could be among the top five choices of those franchises. Lucknow Super Giants may get a huge sum of money with them having no update on their young sensational Mayank Yadav, as they are likely to release Akash Deep, who they roped in for INR 8 crore.

With several experienced stars of Indian cricket, including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Cheteshwar Pujara, taking retirement from international cricket, the speculation has grown for the veteran pacer, Mohammed Shami, who has broken the silence on his future as he declared that he has no plans to step aside. 

Mohammed Shami’s last Test match came in 2023 against Australia during the final of the World Championship. Since then, undergoing the knee surgery, he featured for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy clash last season against Madhya Pradesh before being overlooked during the five-match Test series of Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 down under.

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“If someone has a problem, tell me. Whose life will become better if I take retirement?” Shami told News24. “Mai kiski zindagi mein patthar bana hua hu ki tumhe mujhse retirement chahiye? The day I get bored, I will leave. You don’t pick me, don’t play me, I don’t care. But I will keep working hard.” The 34-year-old expressed during a recent interaction on News24.

Mohammed Shami confirms no instant retirement plans from international cricket

Shami has overall picked up 229 wickets in 122 innings of red-ball cricket at an average of 27.71 and a strike rate of 50,2, while in 107 ODI innings, the right-arm pacer has bagged 206 wickets at an average of 24.05 and a strike rate of 25.8. He, however, featured in the Champions Trophy 2025.

“You don’t pick me in internationals; I will play domestic. I will keep playing somewhere or the other. Retirement and such decisions are made when you start feeling bored, when you don’t want to wake up at 7 am for a Test. That’s not the time for me now. I’ll be up at 5 if you want me to.” Shami addressed during the same discussion.

The fast bowler, reflecting on his fitness, revealed that he had worked incredibly well over the past two months to build his rhythm and prepare for the longer spells in the game. He also shed light on continuing to fight until he doesn’t lose interest and drive from the game.

Mohammed Shami played the last game for India during the Champions Trophy 2025 final and the pacer since then has been away from India blues due fitness issues. He was overlooked for the England series and was not selected in the squad citing the fitness issues. But the pacer is seen training hard to get back into the squad. Having said that, he was not selected for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 starting from September 9.

The pacer is a force to reckon with when on the field and it is evident in the fact that he was the highest wicket taker in the World Cup 2023 for India. As the World Cup 2027 is nearing, Shami has expressed his desire to get into the World Cup 2027 squad and has termed that winning the Word Cup is his ultimate dream and he is working towards making it possible.

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“I only have one dream left, that is to win the ODI World Cup. We were very close in 2023. We had a gut feeling, but there was also fear in the Knockout stage. The enthusiasm and belief of the fans motivated us. Maybe it was not in my luck then, but I want to be there in 2027 World Cup,” said Shami to News24.

India's Asia Cup 2025 Squad:

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh

Standbys - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag

No place for Mohammed Shami in the squad for Asia Cup 2025. He has to wait more to make a comeback in a competitive match. The morning after the BCCI's Asia Cup squad announcement, the experienced pacer shared a video from his official Instagram account.

Through the video, Shami depicted his bowling rehearsal ahead of the Duleep Trophy 2025, where he can make a comeback. Shami has been named in the East Zone team for the season-opening Duleep Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on September 28. Through his tournament, the pacer can pave his path to return. Chances are high for him to play for East Zone from the season opener. 

For this year, the six-team Duleep Trophy is returning to its traditional zonal system. The squads are picked by zonal selectors also. Last year, the tournament had only four teams: A, B, C, and D. Shami is one of the most talked about names from the East Zone squad.

 

 

 

 

 

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Eyes will be on Mohammed Shami 

The pacer, now 34, last was in action during IPL 2025 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was an underwhelming campaign for the speed star, as he picked only six wickets in 9 matches. His last first-class game was for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy in November 2024. Shami last played for India in a Test match in 2023, during the World Test Championship final in June 2023.

The Duleep Trophy can be a great stage for him to show there is still some flair in his bowling. Ahead of the tournament, Shami has been preparing hard with a hope for a possible comeback with the Men in Blue. 

East Zone squad

Ishan Kishan (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami

Standbys: Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, and Rahul Singh. 

It has been the biggest surprise of the recent times in the Indian cricket that Mohammed Shami, despite being fit for the three weeks of Champions Trophy and later in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), didn’t feature in any of the Test matches for the national side during their trips to Australia and England in seven months.

The Blue Brigade struggled with their pace bowling attack, led by Jasprit Bumrah, who couldn’t play more than three games of the series. That was where, even after Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Siraj did well with the ball, the national side under a young captain, Shubman Gill, struggled for experience in the eleven.

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Recently, the Sunrisers have posted a video of the Bengal pacer practicing in the nets with the ball. He was seen to do some stretching and running, besides bowling to a batter in the nets. The veteran looked fluent with the ball as he ran hard to create difficulties for the batters.

Watch: Mohammed Shami starts preparation before Duleep Trophy 2025

It was a poor season with the ball for Shami in the IPL 2025, where he picked just six wickets in nine innings at an average of 56.16 and a strike rate of 30 with an economy rate of more than 11. In 122 Test innings, the right-arm pacer has picked up 229 wickets at an average of 27.71 and a strike rate of 50.2, with his last game coming during the WTC 2023 final against Australia at the Kennington Oval.

The hustle and grind continue behind the scenes 💪🏻

📸: @MdShami11

Mohammad Shami | #PlayWithFire pic.twitter.com/TasXolYE8l

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) August 2, 2025

After being neglected for the national commitment, Shami has been picked in the East Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2025-26. Along with him, Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran and Akash Deep were also part of the squad. Shami’s last first-class game was for the Bengal side during the Ranji Trophy in November last year.

Duleep Trophy will give him a great chance to get ready for the upcoming home Test season against the West Indies and South Africa, while the national side will also make a trip to Australia for a white-ball series. With the T20 World Cup awaiting, his role will be crucial, along with fitness.

The 34-year-old Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami has returned to red-ball cricket as he has been selected for the East Zone for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2025-26.

The completed schedule of the Duleep Trophy 2025-26 has recently been released, where the two-time champions East Zone will start their journey in the tournament from their quarter-final match against North Zone, while the tournament will start on August 28. 

Ishan Kishan will lead East Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy season. Meanwhile, the uncapped Indian top-order batter Abhimanyu Easwaran will play the vice-captain role of the team. 

[WATCH] Harry Brook smashes Siraj for Pant-Like six before rain stops play

Mohammed Shami returns to red-ball cricket

India's Bengal pacers Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, and Akash Deep are all in the East Zone squad for the forthcoming Duleep Trophy season. While Shami played his last Test during the 2023 ICC World Test Championship Final, his last red-ball cricket was last November. Last season, the right-arm fast bowler played only one Ranji Trophy match, as he was working to regain his fitness, which helped him return to white-ball cricket for India. He participated in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and finished as the joint second leading wicket-taker, while India won the title. 

Shami last played a professional match in the IPL 2025, where the right-arm fast bowler took six wickets in nine matches. Although Shami was picked for Shrachi Rath Tigers for the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025, he later pulled out his name from the tournament. 

Talking about the East Zone squad, Riyan Parag has also been selected, while the teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi is in the standbys. 

Duleep Trophy 2025-26: East Zone complete squad

Ishan Kishan (Captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami

Standbys: Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Rahul Singh

Ahead of the 4th England vs. India Test (ENG vs. IND 4th Test) of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, Mohammed Shami shared a video on social media platforms, which is considered a hint of his return to competitive matches.

In the video, Shami showed some glimpses of his preparations. Tightening the boot laces, the pacer went to bowl deliveries back-to-back in nets. In the video, he was looking fine and ready to thrive on the ground again. The right-handed pacer tried various types of deliveries to dismantle the batter on the net. From fuller length to short pitch deliveries, he took out one after another card from his bag. The ball was moving at a good speed, and the batter had to struggle a lot. After a Test snub from the ongoing Test series, speculations over his international career started again.

Recovering from a serious knee injury, Shami just returned to the field. The Uttar Pradesh-born has not played for India since the Champions Trophy in early 2025, where India finished their campaign successfully and Shami got nine wickets in five games. Despite a memorable run, Shami's international career did not look the same as it was before.

 

 

 

 

 

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Read More: [WATCH] Kumar Sangakkara recalls first meeting with Vaibhav Suryavanshi before IPL 2025

Shami can return soon

The chief selector of Team India said before about the fast bowler, "The medical guys have told us that he has been ruled out of this series. He has been trying to be fit for the series, but he had a setback over the last week, and he has had some MRIs done. I don't think he was going to be able to play five tests. We were hoping he would be available for at least some part of the series, but if he is not fit at the moment, it will be very difficult to keep waiting. It is unfortunate. We always want to pick a bowler like him."

As per the latest reports, Shami is all set to return to the domestic circuit after the 50 probables list published by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). There is a possibility of his return in domestic matches through the Duleep Trophy, which is set to back its old inter-zonal format and set to begin on August 28. According to some possibilities, the experienced seamer can mark his return as a part of the East Zone.