Mohammed Shami's name was absent from both the ODI and Test squads that the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced for the upcoming series against New Zealand, leaving the 36-year-old fast bowler without a national team berth once again.
His most recent appearance for the national side came during the ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand — a match India won — held in March of the previous year. Shami claimed nine wickets across five innings at an average of 25.88 during India's run to the tournament title.
In domestic cricket, Shami contributed seven wickets across three Duleep Trophy 2026 outings at a bowling average of 26.57 as part of East Zone's title-winning campaign. Seven matches into the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy campaign, his bowling haul for Bengal stood at 37 wickets at an average of 16.72 runs per dismissal. Across his lone Ranji Trophy appearance of the 2026-27 edition, Shami returned figures of 4/30 in one innings and 1/29 in the other.
Across two IPL campaigns, the right-arm pacer's wicket tally showed gradual improvement — nine appearances for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2025 yielded six dismissals, while 13 outings under the Lucknow Super Giants banner in 2026 produced 12. Consistent outings in domestic competition had built a case for the fast bowler's recall, with selectors understood to be weighing options across the ODI and Test formats.
Optimism around a potential return for Shami deepened when Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a pace-bowling contemporary also aged 36, was named in India's T20I squad to face New Zealand — a series scheduled to run ahead of the ODI and Test fixtures. A return to international duty for Bhuvneshwar — should he earn a place in the playing XI — would mark his first appearance for the national side since the T20 World Cup semi-final against England at Adelaide in 2022.
Across 31 outings for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, Bhuvneshwar claimed 45 wickets at a bowling average of 22.55, with an economy rate of 8.52 runs per over. RCB claimed consecutive IPL championships in 2025 and 2026, with Bhuvneshwar contributing to both campaigns.
Akash Deep, who shares Bengal colours with Shami, earned a place in India's Test squad for the New Zealand series after a prolonged spell on the sidelines. His most recent Test appearance came at The Oval against England during August of the previous year, after which he sustained a lower-back injury that kept him away from competitive cricket for eight months. Anshul Kamboj, who made a single Test appearance during India's 2025 tour of England before losing his place in the side, has also been brought back into the Indian squads.
On Friday, the BCCI released rosters for both the ODI and Test legs of the New Zealand tour. Shubman Gill has been named to lead the side for the opening three matches of the ODI series, captaining a sixteen-player group that includes Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, wicketkeeper KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Kuldeep Yadav.
The sixteen-player squad named for the fourth and fifth ODIs features Shreyas Iyer as captain, with Ishan Kishan serving as wicketkeeper and vice-captain, alongside Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra as the second wicketkeeper option, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Sixteen players make up India's Test squad for the series: Shubman Gill leads the group as captain, with KL Rahul serving as his deputy, while Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, and Nitish Kumar Reddy fill out the batting ranks alongside Rishabh Pant — whose inclusion as wicketkeeper remains conditional on a fitness clearance — and Dhruv Jurel as the second gloveman. The all-round and spin options rest with Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav, and the pace attack is drawn from Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Anshul Kamboj, and Mohammed Siraj.
