Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has showered praise on Mohammed Shami for performing consistently in the domestic circuit despite being ignored by the national selectors. Shami returned with figures of 2-42 in 16 overs he bowled in the first innings of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, accounting for Shaik Rasheed and Smaran Ravichandran.

Shami scalped seven wickets in three matches of the Duleep Trophy at an average of 26.57 and consistently delivered for East Zone. The veteran pacer last played for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy and since then he hasn’t been considered for selection despite decent performances at the domestic level.

Ganguly said the ODI World Cup is a long way away and Shami can come back into the team.

“What makes me happy for Shami is that he turns out day in and day out in domestic cricket and performs. It is terrific to see. He has achieved so much,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

“That’s a long way. I can’t comment. It’s in October (next year). It’s a long way,” he added.

Ganguly said the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel is not ignoring Shami and the pacer needs to wait for his chances.

“He (Shami) is not being neglected,” Ganguly said. “He has played a lot. He is an absolute champion. But as you grow older, this happens. When I got left out from World Cup one-day cricket for a year, after scoring 10,000 runs, I found my way to come back. So, this happens with everyone.”

Shami has ticked the right boxes and deserves all the praise. The fast bowler got the ball to talk even on a placid Chepauk wicket in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone.