“This was not a comeback match for me” - Mohammed Shami responds to selectors with a fiery five-wicket haul in Ranji Trophy

Pacer Mohammed Shami dismissed selectors' fitness concerns with a fiery 5-wicket haul (5/38) for Bengal against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy. Read his blunt response, "This was not a comeback match for me," and the message his stellar 8-wicket match performance sends to the BCCI selection committee ahead of the Test series.

29 Oct 2025 11:59 IST

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Indian veteran pacer Mohammed Shami is aiming for a national comeback after scalping 15 wickets in two games in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season against Uttarakhand and Gujarat.

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Speaking after the game against Gujarat, Shami asserted that his time after the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 final was tough and painful. However, he felt good mentally and physically to get back to his old rhythm.

"When you perform like this, it feels good both mentally and physically. Coming out of a difficult phase and performing well gives a lot of satisfaction. The time after the [2023] World Cup was tough and painful,” Shami told the press after the game.

"But then I played the Ranji Trophy, white-ball cricket, the IPL, Champions Trophy, Duleep Trophy [since his comeback late last year]. Now my rhythm is back to where it was before. I can clearly feel there's still a lot of cricket left in me,” he added.

Notably, Shami last played international cricket way back in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in March. Later, he was axed for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, and he wasn’t selected for the Asia Cup 2025 campaign and the subsequent West Indies Test series.

"This was not a comeback match for me. If you had said that last year, maybe it would have made sense. But yes, in terms of this match, what we did was a special comeback. We decided to bat for 8-10 overs today, we had already taken three points [first-innings lead]. The situation was tough, but the boys put in their full effort. To turn the game in this manner is rare, especially on this kind of wicket. It's a great job by the boys,” he concluded.

Delving into the details of the Ranji game between Bengal and Gujarat, the former batted first and posted 279 runs. In response, Gujarat could score only 167 runs. Later in the third innings, Bengal declared their innings at 214/8.

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In the chase, Gujarat could score only 185 runs, losing the game by 141 runs. Shami scalped a total of eight wickets in the match, including a fifer in the fourth innings.

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