By Saptarshi Nag

Shami fans, are you all getting ready to bid adieu to the most successful of the Indian bowlers in the ICC World Cup? The gloomy picture of selection till date portrays a sordid story of sheer injustice metted out to one of the finest bowlers of our generation. Even after repeating splendid performances in the domestic circuit, Shami was being sidelined under the whims of the selection committee headed by and now the former Chairman (Ousted?) Mr. Agarkar. There is not an iota of hint that the management is taking stock of his availability or his performances in the domestic circuit so that we get a shimmer of hope that he may be called back where he belongs.

There is a quiet, simmering frustration that clouds Indian cricket every time a squad is announced without Mohammed Shami’s name there. What began as a routine effort to rotate fast bowlers has hardened into a baffling, stubborn insistence from the selection committee to look past him. Initially , after a splendid performance in the WC 2023, injury was cited as the cardinal reason for him being sidelined . The timeline gradually revealed a different story. Watching one of the most gifted seamers of his generation grind through domestic cricket, relentlessly taking wickets for Bengal with that same flawless, upright seam, only to be met with total silence from decision-makers feels like a self-inflicted tragedy. Is this tragedy going to hurt India in the World Cup scheduled within a year from now. With the mystery around Rohit resolved after BCCI’s intervention in Ajit Agarkar’s sinister plans, will there be a further push for the curious case of Shami?

This dogmatic refusal to bring him back actively undermines the team’s big-stage stability and lethal edge especially in the high pressure matches. A bowling attack, no matter how promising, cannot simply fabricate the unyielding authority, experience, and match-winning aura Shami commands on the field. His records in the ODI World Cup stand as a monument to his genius—55 wickets in just 18 matches, an unheard-of bowling average of 13.52, a strike rate under 20 balls per wicket, four five-wicket hauls, and best figures of 7 for 57 in a high-stakes semi-final. These are not just distant milestones, rather these are evidences of a legendary tournament temperament that no substitute can replicate. Do you really believe that the likes of Prasidh Krishna or so much talked about Harshit can fill in his shoes? Forget it, those are too big to fill in. The partisan outlook in selection while keeping a national asset aside hurts the national sentiment and it is high time that the cricket lovers are equivocal in bringing back our man who can be the right

With the next World Cup approaching, India’s stubbornness in ignoring a proven big-match winner threatens to leave the squad vulnerable when the pressure peaks. On Sunday we are facing an already depleted side wounded by the natural selection process in the ICC World Cup 2027 by virtue of ICC ranking. Quite likely, Prasidh is going to pick up several wickets against a minnow. Is that the benchmark to select him or Harshit as the substitute for Mr. World Cup Mohammad Shami?

In chasing the illusion of a total overhaul, the committee is trading guaranteed excellence for mere potential, overlooking the simple truth that when World Cup glory is on the line, there is no replacement for a master craftsman who knows how to break a game wide open.

Bumrah, Shami and Siraj- this trio of pace bowlers so effective on a relatively docile Indian surface can be so lethal when we take on our opponents on the green tracks of South Africa within a year but is the management paying any heed to the need leaving aside their personal agenda? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.