India pacer Mohammed Shami has played down retirement talks, insisting he is ready to play domestic cricket to get back into the national side. Shami, who was ignored for the upcoming Asia Cup, last played international cricket during the Champions Trophy in March earlier this year. Responding to a query over his future, Shami counter-questioned if anyone had a problem with him. He confirmed that he has no intentions to retire just yet as he still has plenty of cricket left in him.
Shami suggested he is ready to do the hard yards by playing domestic cricket, and that he is focused on getting back to the Indian team and helping them win the 2027 ODI World Cup.
“If someone has a problem, tell me, if it is like their lives become better if I take retirement. Tell me whose life have I become a rock in that you want me to retire? The day I get bored, I will leave. You don’t pick me, but I will keep working hard. You don’t pick me in international, I will play domestic. I will keep playing somewhere or the other. You have to make these decisions when you start feeling bored. That is not the time for me now,” Shami told News24.
Shami also reflected on India’s narrow defeat to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, saying that luck wasn’t on their side that night.
“I only have one dream left, that is to win the ODI World Cup. I want to be a part of that team and perform that wins the ODI World Cup and brings it home. We were very close in 2023. We had a gut feeling, but we also had a fear that we were winning non-stop, and it was the knockout stage. There was some fear. But the enthusiasm and belief of the fans motivated us. This was a dream that could have been fulfilled, but maybe it was not in my luck,” he added.
Shami revealed he has been toiling hard for the last two months, working to improve various aspects of his game, and he is now ready for a comeback.
“Touchwood it is better now. For the last two months I have trained, increased my skills, shed weight and increased the load as well. Let’s see the result that I get now. My focus is on getting rhythm and being able to bowl long spells. I have practiced batting and fielding as well and done a lot of gym. Everything is comfortable now,” said Shami.
Shami also revealed he was ready to join the team in England, but pulled out at the last moment after experiencing discomfort. As a result, he made the tough choice to step aside as pushing his body has often led to injury setbacks in the past.
“We often overpush, and then we have to pay a big penalty. It happened to me during the 2015 World Cup when I pushed a lot and then had to get my knee operated on. It was the same scene in 2023. I played in pain and then I had to give up and spent a lot of time after that. I am not saying not to push, but if it is a normal series, you should talk to the management,” he concluded.
So far, Shami has played 64 Tests, 108 ODIs, and 27 ODIs, taking 462 wickets across formats.
